


you've been lonely too long

by beomrebi



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Curse Breaking, Cursed Choi Beomgyu, Curses, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Romance, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, TXT Secret Santa Fic Fest 2020, beomgyu is a crane boy, choi beomgyu is emotionally constipated, crane - Freeform, failed character development lol, feels bad for writing so little of yeonbinkai, i promised i'd add that tag, in the second half it gets angsty, it's literally just a recount and not a good story, okay time for random tags ig, side Yeonkai, taegyu, taehyun falls hard for beomgyu, that's the fic, this is crap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 48,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28069899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beomrebi/pseuds/beomrebi
Summary: The first time they 'met' was in the forest when they were young, with no words exchanged and only a single sparkling feather left behind.This time, ten years later, they exchange their first words at a café.The only thing is that they don't realise they shared that night together. Or more accurately, they don't recognise each other.It's only later on that Taehyun notices the familiar feather around Beomgyu's neck, identical to the one he kept.Who could have predicted just how important they would become to each other?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Yeonjun/Huening Kai
Comments: 39
Kudos: 78
Collections: TXT Secret Santa Fic Fest 2020





	1. i

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tyunflower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyunflower/gifts).



> **prompt:** This might sound like a stretch but Taehyun's in love with a crane. One night when he was strolling around the forest, he comes across a pond. There, he sees a beautiful white crane flapping his wings, slowly landing right in the middle of the pond. The crane was gorgeous. And even more gorgeous and shocking as the crane transformed into a boy. Their eyes meet and the boy quickly transforms back and flies away. A single feather falls off from it. It was his only remembrance and hope of finding him again. 10 years later, he stumbles upon a boy with an identical feather hanging round his neck. He has found him. But is he ready to shoulder whatever consequence comes with the cursed crane? Can he free him?
> 
> Beomgyu's the crane Taehyun met. He's originally a crane, cursed to be human, to suffer the gruesome experiences of humanity, like the lack of freedom.
> 
>   
> to eli,
> 
> thank you for such an interesting prompt! i decided to challenge myself with this fantasy au, and goodness, what a ride it was. looking back on it, it wasn't the best i could have written (not because of the prompt, but because of me), but i hope it still makes you and my readers happy, even if it's only a little bit! i hope you enjoy it! i'm sorry it ended up so long, so please take your time in reading it! i hope i was able to give at least some justice to your amazing prompt!
> 
> to the readers, no matter how much you get through, whether it's one chapter or the whole thing, i hope you enjoy it, even a little bit and i sincerely thank you for even checking it out! the title is from [dust to dust](https://open.spotify.com/track/5P6ZBMWS66FVo6deJaDdHy?si=CJN-nMkCQb2rcQXTQbw67Q) by the civil wars. it fit the fic more than i realised!
> 
> note: feel free to read this fic as an "entire work", but the chapters are there for people who might want to read this in chunks! i'm sorry it's so long! ><
> 
> disclaimer: this doesn't have anything to do with the real idols! it's written for entertainment and is a work of fiction.

The cold wind howls and the trees rustle as dead leaves and dirt crunch with every step from the boy. He shivers, regretting not wearing another layer, as he makes his way through, the light from his torch illuminating his path. He has no destination; he only knows that he’s always wanted to take a late night walk, and what better time to do it than the last night of his holiday and the only night with a full moon? If he’s completely honest, it probably wasn’t the _best_ idea since it’s dark and cold and he could probably get hurt (or worse, die) and no one would even know. But the peace and tranquility of the forest soothes him, and it feels like nature is inviting him to explore their hidden beauty at night. 

He takes cautious and slow steps, never stepping outside of his illuminated path, and trying to ignore the fear of being attacked by something. The sound of the wind and rustling trees calm and comfort him in a way. It’s so soft and peaceful that he’ll know exactly when something is wrong. 

As he’s walking, he sees a peculiar sight: a clearing, with a large pond, lit up by the moonlight and sparkling with the moon’s reflection. He turns off his torch, as he can clearly see and admire the scenery without it. He’s about to step out into the clearing, to sit by the pond and admire the night sky, when the peaceful silence is disturbed by the flapping of wings. 

Before his eyes, a beautiful white crane descends like a dove and lands in the middle of the pond. It stretches its wings, displaying its black feathers on the inside and pure, white feathers along the rest of the expanse. It extends its long, black neck, dipping down to drink the water with its golden beak. It moves so gracefully that the boy is stunned by its beauty and elegance. He’s never witnessed something so captivating before. He wishes that he had a way to capture the moment. 

The boy is content in observing the crane, until suddenly, it wraps its wings around itself and it starts to shine, glowing and emitting a dazzling light. The next second, he sees a young boy in place of the crane. 

The once-crane boy looks up at the sky, displaying the side of his face as he closes his eyes. The sight is… ethereal (although the boy does not yet know that word, so he can only describe it as magical). He continues to stare, admiring the black-haired boy’s jaw line and round features. He’s so caught up in the sight that he almost misses the moment when their eyes lock and suddenly, his breath is taken away. The black-haired boy’s eyes glitter like stars as he stares in shock. But in a split second, the boy’s face turns into panic and he glows again and flies away quickly as a crane. 

_‘How weird.’_ The boy thinks. _‘A bird that turned into a boy? Or did the boy turn into a bird?’_

He notices something sparkling, floating down gradually, until it lands in the middle of the pond. The boy does not hesitate to step into the shallow water and walk towards the object. In the middle of the pond is a single, pristine, white feather. He swears he can see it sparkle, as if enchanted with magic. And perhaps it _is_ magic, for when he picks up the feather, it is not wet or dripping like it should. 

The boy decides to keep the feather, as a reminder of the strange encounter. As a young 8-year-old boy, he doesn’t know what to think of it—perhaps it was all like a dream—but alas, he wakes up with the feather on his bedside table and he remembers. It wasn’t a dream. But there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s leaving to return home today, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever see the crane boy again. Maybe it was just a figment of his imagination. And yet, he still thinks about the beautiful crane and the mysterious boy and he hopes that one day, they will meet again. 

* * *

The boy, now 18 years old, carries his luggage up the flight of stairs that lead to his new shared apartment. He sacrificed having an elevator in favour of picking a cheap apartment that was relatively close to the university, only being a 20-minute walk. Even though he managed to consolidate and only bring the bare minimum, he’s still got another four boxes waiting at the entrance of the building. To be fair, the essentials his mother prepared for him probably take up two boxes. 

He unlocks the door, and with a shove, he steps into his new home. It’s not amazing, but Taehyun would describe it as ‘cosy’ and ‘satisfactory’. He just needs to spruce the place up a bit with his personal touch and things from home. His roommate hasn’t moved in yet, although Taehyun supposes he _is_ a few days early. It’s an opportunity for him to familiarise himself with the neighbourhood and the trip to university. He slowly grabs his other boxes, climbing up the stairs to the second level, and unpacks his things. At least he’ll have his own room and privacy. He just hopes he has a nice roommate, too. Someone he can get along with, seeing as he’s coming into university with no prior friends. 

His roommate comes in the form of a fellow first-year music student named Kai. It’s easy to get along with Kai and they have a chemistry that Taehyun knows will grow their friendship quickly. Kai is everything Taehyun could have asked for: friendly, funny, open, and never judgemental. They even share a few classes, seeing as they both study vocal music. 

Although, Taehyun does have to admit he was surprised when he saw the younger boy unpacking his box full of plushies. He’d never even seen a child that was in love with plushies so much that they owned a whole box full, not that he minds. 

“We’re gonna become best friends!” Kai exclaimed within an hour of meeting each other. 

“Let’s hope neither of us quit our courses.” Taehyun chuckled. 

“We can do it, Taehyun-ah! Don’t be such a party pooper!” Kai laughed. 

They spent the day unpacking and exploring the neighbourhood, finding where the convenience store was, and where the places to eat were. Taehyun found himself liking his choice of the apartment more and more as he discovered the conveniences of their neighbourhood. Their first dinner was of course, instant ramen, because Kai claimed it was a well-known tradition for eating in a new apartment, nevertheless the night before the university’s open day. 

Although classes don’t start for another week, the university is open for orientations, extracurricular clubs, and various other welcoming activities across the campus. Although Taehyun could care less about the pleasantries, his older sister insisted it would be a great opportunity to familiarise himself with the campus. 

When it gets to lunch time, Kai immediately takes the chance to bring Taehyun to one of the many cafés on their campus. 

“Trust me, you’ll love this one. It’s a bit more hidden, so it doesn’t get packed with lines the whole day, and it’s really nice and cosy! My friends also work there, so we can get discounts or even free food at the end of the day!” Kai beams confidently.

“Sounds like they’re either really generous friends or you’re overconfident.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“Wow, only a few days into our friendship and you’re already accusing me?” Kai scoffs jokingly. “They’ll like you for sure.” 

The café itself is, as Kai said, in a more secluded area, being located on the side of the campus that doesn’t have many classes. It’s still decent-sized, and Taehyun’s first impression is that it’s ‘humble’. The bell rings as they enter, and the interior is decorated with paintings, photos, and plants. There’s an old record player playing soft R&B music, and there are a few people sitting down and conversing, although it never gets too loud. 

“Juni-hyung!” Kai smiles wide as a blond-haired boy shoots his head up and smiles wide. 

“Ning! You finally came to visit!” 

The boy comes out from behind the counter and hugs Kai tight, ruffling his hair playfully. 

“Ah, stop, hyung!” Kai laughs, trying to get out of the boy’s headlock. 

“And this is?” 

“Taehyun. I’m Kai’s roommate.” Taehyun bows his head politely. 

“Oh! Nice to meet you! I’m Yeonjun!” Yeonjun beams, letting go of Kai in favour of shaking Taehyun’s hand. “Thanks for taking care of this one. He’s a bit of a handful sometimes, but I’m sure you can handle him just fine!” 

“Hey, I’m not a kid anymore!” Kai blushes. 

“Anyway, grab a seat and I’ll get you some menus.” Yeonjun smiles. “Everything’s on the house, just for today!” 

“Yay! Thanks, hyung!” Kai pumps a fist in the air as he makes his way to one of the tables by the window. 

A few moments later, a black-haired boy approaches their table with two menus. Taehyun looks up, and he’s struck by the boy’s beauty. He has a defined jaw line and such pretty eyes that Taehyun finds himself staring at for probably a few seconds too long. 

“Here are your menus. I’ll be back to get your orders.” The boy says, promptly leaving and returning to his place at the coffee machine. 

“Wow, this wasn’t on the menu last time...” Kai says, scanning the menu. “What’s wrong?” 

“Huh? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” 

“Clearly.” Kai chuckles. “Are you all right?” 

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine.” Taehyun clears his throat and similarly scans the menu. 

He ignores the way that his eyes were trained on the black-haired boy, and hopes Kai didn’t notice anything. They order their food and drinks (with Kai going all out and choosing the most expensive item on the menu), and the black-haired boy silently writes the order in his notepad. Taehyun finds him mysterious, now that he thinks about it. The boy doesn’t smile or anything, just quietly does his job with minimal words. Taehyun passes it off as being shy or simply part of his personality. 

“It really _is_ a nice café.” Taehyun smiles. “Thanks for bringing me here.” 

“Oh Taehyunnie, this is only the start of many… _many_ visits. University students can’t go a day without coffee. That’s what Juni-hyung said.” Kai chuckles. 

“That can’t be healthy.” Taehyun sighs lightheartedly. “Do you even have the money for it? Coffee is expensive.” 

“Tsk, tsk,” Kai waves his finger from side to side. “That’s why we’re coming to _this_ café. Juni-hyung would totally let us off the hook more often than not. Maybe not Soobin-hyung, though...” 

“What lies are you spewing to your new roommate?” Yeonjun ruffles Kai’s hair. “You want something, you gotta pay for it, kiddo.” 

“Ahh, stop!” Kai complains. “I told you already, I’m not a kid! I’m in university now, you can’t call me that anymore.” 

“You’re still a kid in my eyes.” Yeonjun sticks his tongue out. 

They continue bickering until someone clears their throat behind Yeonjun. 

“Your orders.” 

It’s the black-haired boy again, this time with two plates of food. Yeonjun moves aside as the boy silently places the respective dishes in front of the two. 

“Oh yeah, this is Beomgyu!” Yeonjun slings an arm around Beomgyu’s neck. “Beomgyu, this is Kai, my childhood friend, and his new roommate, Taehyun.” 

“Nice to meet you.” Beomgyu smiles. 

But Taehyun doesn’t miss how his eyes crinkle a bit too much and his mouth spreads a little too wide, lips still thinly pursed together. It looks like the same smile he’d force upon all of his customers, regardless of the fact that Yeonjun knows them. It definitely gives Taehyun a great first impression, which is only softened by his undeniably cute dimple. And yet, Taehyun still decides it’s probably just his personality, so he shouldn’t be offended. It’s their first meeting, after all. 

“Loosen up a bit, Gyu! Aren’t I always telling you to be more natural?” Yeonjun retorts. 

“Yeah, yeah. Get back to work, hyung.” Beomgyu sighs as he returns to his place behind the counter again. 

“Once you get to know him, he’s a lot nicer, don’t worry. He’s just like that.” Yeonjun reassures the two. “Well, I’ll leave you two to enjoy your meal.” 

Taehyun starts eating his food and he’s pleasantly surprised by how good it is. For a small café, it’s better than he’d expected, and the prices are decent too. As he and Kai eat their food, Taehyun’s eyes can’t help but glance towards Beomgyu. He seems to make that same customer smile to every person that comes up to the counter, only to immediately switch it off as he diligently makes each drink order. 

_‘Maybe he’s having a bad day.’_ Taehyun muses. 

* * *

He’s not just having a bad day, Taehyun finds out, three visits later. 

Beomgyu is as unresponsive and blank as the first day they met. It irks Taehyun that he’s unable to read him—something that Taehyun thought he could pride himself on—and therefore makes little progress in getting to know him better. 

Taehyun also meets Soobin, Yeonjun’s other friend and fellow co-worker who is subsequently friends with Kai from the few times Kai visited Yeonjun while he was still in school. There’s a large contrast between Soobin and Beomgyu, as Soobin is genuine and kind from the get-go, without a doubt. His smiles are warm and he always checks to make sure that Taehyun is as comfortable as possible. He’s intentional in their friendship in a way that Beomgyu could never match. Or at least, this is what Taehyun has been able to deduct from their first few meetings together. 

“How are you feeling about your classes?” Soobin asks on Friday afternoon, before they officially start. 

“I’m excited! We finally get to start our university life!” Kai exclaims with a wide smile. 

“Neutral, I guess? I don’t really know what to expect.” Taehyun says. 

“Remind me what you’re studying again?” Soobin takes a bite of his sandwich. 

“Bachelor of Music, majoring in vocal music and minoring in music composition.” Taehyun replies calmly. 

“Music composition? That’s Beomgyu’s major!” Soobin looks up. “Ya! Beomgyu! Taehyun here is gonna minor in music composition.” 

Although there are no other people in the café besides the five of them (Yeonjun being in the back), Beomgyu makes no move to join their conversation and simply replies, “Okay” before returning to his mindless cleaning. 

“That’s so cool, Taehyunnie! Maybe Beomgyu-ssi can help you out.” Kai suggests. “What do you minor in then?” 

“Instrumental music.” Beomgyu says, eyes never leaving the table he’s wiping down. 

“Really? What instrument do you play?” 

“Mainly guitar.” 

“Guitar? We should play together someday!” 

“That’d be great! Maybe you could play for the café, set up a mini concert.” Soobin laughs. 

As Soobin and Kai converse, Taehyun finds himself captivated by Beomgyu again, cleaning the table next to them. As he’s leaning over, Taehyun notices something he never had the chance to before, from only seeing Beomgyu at a distance. 

It’s a long feather (white, with hints of grey) hanging from a simple necklace cord. Taehyun squints his eyes and he swears he sees the feather sparkle in the sunlight. It looks awfully familiar… almost like Taehyun’s feather from years ago, when he was a child. He locks eyes with Beomgyu and the latter furrows his eyes. 

“What are you looking at?” He asks firmly. 

“Y-Your necklace. It’s really pretty.” Taehyun stutters, feeling slightly intimidated by his first real conversation with the quiet boy. “Where did you get it from?” 

“Just found it somewhere.” Beomgyu answers quickly, before moving onto the next table. 

Taehyun finds it slightly odd that the boy would answer so vaguely. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to say _where_ exactly he found it? But alas, Beomgyu is a man of few words (quite literally), and he has no obligation to tell Taehyun anything further. Maybe it’s something personal to him, and he doesn’t want to overshare about it. 

When Taehyun returns home that day, he puts his belongings down and immediately makes a beeline for the box he’s hidden carefully underneath his bed. He unlocks the small chest with the key stashed away in his wallet. 

Inside is the white feather from the lake that one night, still as pristine and sparkling as ten years ago. It’s the same as Beomgyu’s, Taehyun decides. No other feather would sparkle like his, and the shape is identical as well. 

Taehyun had decided to keep the feather all these years to remind him of the strange encounter, but after so many years, he has come to accept that the crane is probably long gone and living its own life. But deep down inside, there’s still a sliver of hope. Maybe he’ll meet the boy again one day, as a human or as a beautiful crane. He’s held onto this precious memory, just so that he can see the beautiful crane again, even if it’s only once. 

Although he was only eight at the time, Taehyun always remembers the crane boy, and nothing else. He doesn’t remember how he got there, or what happened after the crane flew away, but he remembers its beauty and how ethereal it looked in the moonlight. 

Needless to say, he doesn’t remember what the boy looked like—only that he was the prettiest person 8-year-old Taehyun had seen. He only remembers nights as a young boy, trying to remember what he looked like, only for his image of the boy to fade and become distorted over the years.

Perhaps Beomgyu knows something about the crane boy… or could it possibly be…? 

The only way to confirm his suspicions is to ask Beomgyu about it again. Although, Taehyun knows it’s a harder task than it seems. Last time, he had seemed quick to change the topic, which only makes Taehyun more curious about the mysterious boy. 

And so, the next morning, when the café is quite empty, Taehyun goes alone and orders his usual caramel macchiato from Beomgyu. 

“Here’s your change.” 

“Where did you really get the feather?” Taehyun blurts in a bout of confidence. 

Beomgyu pauses for a second, and Taehyun catches the hesitation in his eyes. Bingo. 

“I told you already. I picked it up somewhere.” Beomgyu sighs as he goes to make the drink. 

“Surely you know where, then… since you keep it with you every day.” Taehyun keeps his voice firm, confidence unwavering. 

“It’s none of your business.” 

“Just tell me what you know.” 

“I’m not going to tell you when I don’t need to.” 

“I’ll tell Yeonjun-hyung and the others about the crane.” 

“Tell them. They won’t believe you.” Beomgyu huffs out a quiet laugh. 

“Did you just… laugh?” Taehyun gapes, completely ignoring the previously shared conversation. 

“What? No.” Beomgyu’s face goes blank again. 

“You totally did! So you _can_ show positive expressions!” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beomgyu pouts. “I smile at everyone all the time.” 

“Sure. Your customer smile doesn’t count, Beomgyu-ssi.” 

“Whatever. Take your drink and stop talking to me already.” He sighs as he passes Taehyun his take-away coffee. 

Taehyun, to Beomgyu’s surprise, complies, taking his drink as he makes his way to his usual seat by the window. He smirks, satisfied that he finally got his first positive reaction from Beomgyu, even if the elder denies it. 

He’s at least confirmed that Beomgyu knows _something_ about the crane boy, but Taehyun knows better than to force it out of the boy, especially when they’ve only really had two proper conversations. If he can even call them that. 

Taehyun smiles to himself, thinking of the beautiful crane, and how he might finally get to meet the boy again. After all these years, holding onto the memory and the feather will have been worth it. 

Choi Beomgyu becomes a mystery that Taehyun is determined to solve. Now that he _knows_ Beomgyu is related to the crane for certain, it only fuels his curiosity even more. 

Choi Beomgyu may be an enigma to him, but Taehyun is prepared to figure him out. 

* * *

By the third week of classes, Taehyun has settled into university and fallen into routine. He’s never had too many troubles with self-discipline and staying on top of his work, after all. And since he’s studying music, he’s actually motivated to learn something he enjoys, unlike high school. Kai shares the same sentiments, still positive as always and eager to learn. 

One afternoon when he visits the café, he notices Beomgyu sitting at a table in the corner with his laptop open, an indicator that he’s on his break and not working behind the counter as usual. 

“It’s rare to see you on break.” Taehyun smiles as he walks over. 

Beomgyu looks up with his blank stare and he forces a smile as he locks eyes with Taehyun. 

“There aren’t many customers today.” He says before going back to typing away at his laptop. 

“Are you working on an assignment?” Taehyun asks, peering over. 

“And what if I am?” Beomgyu scoffs. 

“Calm down, I was just wondering.” Taehyun smiles warmly, already accustomed to Beomgyu’s attitude. 

“What do you want from me? I’ve already told you to mind your own business, and yet you still persist. I’m not telling you anything.” Beomgyu runs a hand through his hair, furrowing his brow. 

“I want to be your friend. Is there something wrong with that?” Taehyun sits down across from him, inviting himself into Beomgyu’s space. 

“Yes, there is.” Beomgyu glares back at him. “You’re annoying me. I know you just want to know about the feather, and that’s it.” 

“Sure, I’m curious about that, but I do genuinely want to become your friend, Beomgyu-ssi. You’re interesting.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“Well you can quit it. I’m not becoming friends with you, or anyone for that matter.” Beomgyu sighs. 

“Let’s be acquaintances, then. Not friends, but not strangers.” Taehyun suggests. 

“You’re awfully stubborn. What do you even want to do with this information about the crane? Hunt it down?” 

“Relax. I just want to see it again. And perhaps get to know the mysterious boy. Don’t you think it’s amazing?” Taehyun asks, eyes lighting up. “Not even to research it or anything… just to discover... such a wonderful being.” 

Beomgyu pauses, struck by Taehyun’s words as the thoughts run through his mind at a million miles. 

“I think it’s a stupid endeavour, and that you should stop trying.” Beomgyu shuts his laptop and promptly gets up. “Can’t you just be satisfied that you saw it once in your life?” 

“If anyone would be satisfied with seeing it once, I think _they’d_ be the stupid ones. Beauty like theirs… it’d be a shame to never see them again.” 

The look in Taehyun’s eyes is one full of determination, and it’s foreign to Beomgyu. 

“Suit yourself.” Beomgyu sighs, going to the back of the café and later returning to the counter once more. 

“Wait, could I have my usual? I promise I came here to study.” Taehyun calls out. 

“Of course, Taehyun-ssi.” Beomgyu forces his smile again before preparing Taehyun’s drink. 

“Just call me Taehyun. Adding the honorific sounds weird.” 

“Okay.” Beomgyu nods. “Call me Beomgyu, then. It’s weird if it’s just you being polite to me.” 

“Not hyung?” Taehyun teases.

“We’re not friends, remember?” 

“Not yet.” Taehyun winks. 

Beomgyu lets out another quiet laugh. 

  
  


For the moment, Taehyun is satisfied with their ‘acquaintances, not friends’ status. He understands it’s a slow process in getting to know Beomgyu, but he’s confident that the elder boy will open up eventually. 

He sees Beomgyu almost every day, whether it’s during his Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday shift, or in passing, since they both belong to the music department. Taehyun shares two classes with Kai (Introduction to Vocal Music, and Music Theory 140), and so Tuesdays are usually the day when all five of them hang out at lunch. 

“Beomgyu, there are literally no customers. Chill and take a break, would you?” Yeonjun sighs, dragging Beomgyu over to their table in the corner. 

“Fine, but if there’s a customer, I’m taking it.” Beomgyu crosses his arms and pouts. 

“Beomgyu-hyung, you’re really dedicated to your work, aren’t you?” Kai chuckles. 

“Don’t call me hyung, you brat.” 

“Ugh, you’re just like Juni-hyung! I’m _not_ a brat.” Kai complains. “Taehyunnie, tell them how mature I am at home!” 

“Sure, if by which you mean forgetting to do the chores, or leaving your clothes on the floor, or-”

“OKAY! That’s enough spreading false rumours, thank you.” Kai clasps a hand over Taehyun’s mouth. “I’m still not a kid, though.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Kai. Yeonjun-hyung just can’t believe you’re growing up so fast.” Soobin laughs, causing Yeonjun to blush and hit him. 

Beomgyu’s reluctance to join their conversation and his offer to serve any customers tells Taehyun a few things about him. He stays quiet for most of the conversation, much like his usual personality, only speaking up when he needs to. He looks down nervously, biting his lip and checking almost every second whether someone is outside the café, despite them having a bell set up. He probably doesn’t do well in conversations, whether because he’s shy or something else, and searches for any opportunity to escape or do something else. Although, Taehyun is less inclined to think he’s shy, since the elder usually has no trouble talking with Taehyun or with anyone else for that matter. He’s probably just a bit awkward, unable to continue the conversation. 

Taehyun tries his best to include Beomgyu in the conversation, occasionally asking him questions or for his opinion, but as usual, he receives blunt answers of few words. The other weird thing about Beomgyu is that he hardly shows any expressions. Sometimes Yeonjun will crack a joke, or Kai will do something funny, but Beomgyu remains stone-faced. Either that, or his reactions are delayed, and he puts on his fake smiles and laughs that Taehyun can already tell aren’t genuine. Perhaps he’s just hard to please?

Eventually, Yeonjun gets called by the manager to check something in the back, making him leave the table temporarily. As soon as he’s disappeared and is out of earshot, the conversation goes in a different direction that Taehyun does not expect.

“So Kai, when are you finally going to confess?” Soobin asks, leaning in close and smiling smugly. 

“W-What do you mean?” Kai stutters, almost choking on his drink. 

“To Yeonjun-hyung! Oh by the way, Taehyunnie, Kai has been pining for Yeonjun-hyung for _years_ now.” Soobin rolls his eyes.

“Wasn’t that obvious enough already?” Taehyun chuckles. 

“Wait, really?!” Kai exclaims in shock. 

“Wow, you’ve only known each other for weeks and he’s already got you figured out, Kai.” 

“I mean, you’re not exactly secretive about it. You always smile wide when you’re messaging him, and don’t think I don’t see you making those eyes at him wherever you go.” Taehyun says bluntly. 

Kai blushes, clearly embarrassed at how he isn’t hiding his crush as well as he thought. 

“Hyung doesn’t like me back, though. I don’t want to ruin everything.” Kai bites his lip nervously. 

“You never know until you confess! Right, Beomgyu?” Soobin turns to Beomgyu, who is clearly disengaged and looks up from his phone with a blank look.

“Sure. I wouldn’t know.” Beomgyu admits honestly. 

“But don’t you think Yeonjun-hyung likes Kai back? The signs are clear. He looks at Kai with the same eyes, and Kai is always his favourite.” Taehyun suggests. 

“I don’t know, okay? I’m out of here, I need to sort the cupboard.” Beomgyu scoffs as he leaves the table. 

“What’s his problem?” Taehyun whispers, still not quite understanding Beomgyu’s attitude. 

“He’s always like that whenever we talk about romance.” Soobin sighs. “Don’t mind him, he just hates talking about it for some reason.” 

“Beomgyu-hyung seems like the type to be popular, though.” Kai chuckles. 

“Yeah, sometimes he gets the girls who shamelessly flirt with him, but as always, he just bluntly continues with his job.” Soobin says. “That’s another thing! Yeonjun-hyung turns down every single person who tries to flirt with him, no matter what gender.” 

“That doesn’t mean anything! He could just be uninterested in love at the moment.” Kai pouts. 

“Or he could be interested in you.” Taehyun supplies. 

“Ahh, both of you shut up!” Kai whines. “Stop giving me false hope.” 

Soobin and Taehyun share a sigh, clearly knowing both sides of the mutual pining but understanding that it’s not their place to intervene. Taehyun imagines that Soobin has been suffering for longer though, having known Yeonjun for the past three years and seeing Kai occasionally whenever he would visit. In time, he supposes they’ll work themselves out. 

Yeonjun returns to the table and doesn’t ask why Beomgyu has left the conversation, which Taehyun takes as an indicator that he understands Beomgyu at a deeper level than Taehyun initially thought. He asks them what he missed out on, and Soobin replies with “Nothing much” while Kai blushes shyly. 

Taehyun finds himself even more confused, or perhaps curious about Beomgyu’s attitude and character. He starts to wonder whether he can become friends with Beomgyu, but makes the resolution to persist at it. He feels the guilt rest in a part of his heart at the thought of becoming friends with Beomgyu to learn more about the crane, but tries to convince himself that there are other, better reasons. He wants to understand this boy, even if he doesn’t know why. 

Perhaps there is something he sees within this lonely and distant boy, and he simply wants to see Beomgyu smile genuinely. 

* * *

Although it isn’t guaranteed that Taehyun will see Beomgyu every day, he still messages the boy daily, attempting to build their friendship bit by bit. And although Beomgyu replies with one-word answers or short phrases, he still replies nevertheless. Even when Taehyun isn’t messaging him, he’s sometimes hanging out with Soobin and Yeonjun, or somewhat present in their group chat. Either way, Taehyun doesn’t go a day without talking to him (whether it’s recommending him a song or asking about what he’s doing), which is why he finds Beomgyu’s ‘off days’ weird. 

The first time he learnt of Beomgyu’s ‘off days’ was when he didn’t show up to the café on a Wednesday for his usual shift. He asked Yeonjun where the usually quiet yet devoted-to-his-job boy was, and Yeonjun replied that it was his ‘off day’. These were the one day of each month where Beomgyu would go visit his parents in Daegu, and where he apparently couldn’t use his phone, because he wanted to “spend his precious time with his parents” instead. Or so Beomgyu had explained to Yeonjun, who explained it to Taehyun. 

While Taehyun appreciated Beomgyu’s sincerity in spending time with his parents, he couldn’t understand why the elder didn’t use his phone. Surely he had enough free time without being by his parents’ side to use his phone, even just to check social media or message the group chat. It wasn’t like Daegu was in the middle of nowhere either, so having no reception wouldn’t work as an excuse. 

Don’t get him wrong, it’s not like Taehyun was bothered by the fact that he didn’t get to message Beomgyu (he understands his boundaries as an acquaintance), he just found it weird. He also heard from Yeonjun that these ‘off days’ are usually quite random, as his parents can be quite demanding. Even if he has a class, every few months or so, he has to skip them in order to see his parents. Yeonjun and Soobin, similarly to Taehyun, don’t understand why he can’t just visit them one weekend per month, but Beomgyu simply shrugs and doesn’t explain further. With time, Yeonjun and Soobin simply accepted it. 

“It’s just a weird Beomgyu and his family thing. Don’t think too hard about it.” Yeonjun shrugged. “Unless… you have a crush on Beomgyu?” 

“I knew it!” Kai cried out.

“I don’t! Stop making assumptions.” Taehyun scoffed. “I just find it weird, that’s all.” 

“Sure, Taehyunnie.” Kai smiled smugly. “I see the way you look at him.” 

“Like you’re one to talk.” Taehyun laughed. “Don’t make me tell him.” 

That shut Kai up. 

He asked Beomgyu about it the next day, and he simply told him it was “none of his business”. When he tried again, Beomgyu got annoyed and didn’t talk to Taehyun for a day. 

The next time it happened was a Friday, when Beomgyu usually had classes, and the third time was on a Saturday, which made more sense than the weekdays, Taehyun supposed. 

The other weird thing was that Beomgyu always somehow knew a week in advance when he would be going. They’d suggested a movie night for Friday, and Beomgyu magically said, “I’m heading to Daegu that Friday.” so that they could postpone it to the next week. But why would his parents be so specific to set the date on a weekday, no less? 

It was all a mystery to Taehyun, and it only made his curiosity about Beomgyu grow even more.


	2. ii

It’s a week before exams (busy with cramming final assignments and study) when Kai brings up the idea of going away during their holidays. One of his relatives owns a holiday house that’s near a forest and lake, and Kai thinks it’s the perfect place to spend a few days away. They all quickly agree, eager to celebrate finishing the first semester and to spend time away from the city. Beomgyu, to Taehyun’s surprise, agrees to tag along without much resistance. Perhaps he underestimated the boy’s usual coldness and stand-offish attitude towards Taehyun and Kai. He wasn’t trying to exclude Beomgyu—the boy still hangs out with them without complaint, and he’s part of their friendship group of course—but Taehyun just didn’t think that Beomgyu would agree to staying with them for a whole four days. Maybe he’s wrong, but Beomgyu seems like the type to prefer to keep working or to spend time at home, away from people. Either way, he isn’t complaining; it’s another opportunity to get to know Beomgyu better. 

They leave on the Friday night after they’ve all finished their exams to drive down to the holiday house, playing ‘scissors-paper-rock’ to decide who gets to go in which car. Beomgyu and Yeonjun end up in one car, while Soobin, Kai, and Taehyun are in the other. Surprisingly, they arrive first despite having left after the other two. The answer is seen in the empty soft drink cups and fast food paper bags that they bring out. 

“No fair! Where’s ours?” Kai complains when Yeonjun jokingly gives him the bag with rubbish inside. 

“Not my responsibility. Your fault you ended up in Soobin’s car.” Yeonjun pokes out his tongue teasingly. 

“We can get it later if you really need it, Kai.” Soobin sighs. “First things first, we need to get everything inside and settle in.” 

The house is a spacious two-story cabin, much like some of the other houses around the neighbourhood. It’s surrounded by a beautiful and vast forest, trees in various shades of green swaying in the summer breeze. 

“We can have a barbecue, and we can swim in the lake, and take bushwalks, and-”

“Calm down, Kai.” Yeonjun chuckles at his excitement and ruffles his hair. “We can work it all out tomorrow. For now, what’s the sleeping arrangement?” 

“There’s two rooms with double beds, so unless anyone wants to sleep together, those can be one person each. And then one single bedroom, and unfortunately for the two leftover, they need to share a room with two single beds.” Kai explains.

“Great, so you and Yeonjun, right?” Taehyun smiles immediately.

Kai almost chokes as Yeonjun blushes slightly and blurts, “Wha- no, we decide by scissors, paper, rock!”

“What if there’s one loser?” Soobin asks. 

“Loser can choose their roommate.” 

“Ouch, pulling someone down with them.” Kai chuckles, stretching his hands. 

“There’s no way I’m losing a room to myself.” Beomgyu says firmly, eyes set on winning. 

Taehyun vaguely wonders who he’d pick if he was the sole loser.

“All right. Scissors, paper, rock!” 

It turns out that Taehyun doesn’t need to worry about who he’d pick, because he’s stuck with Beomgyu of all people. The two of them lost after three rounds of tying, causing the other three to cheer excitedly. Yeonjun and Soobin get the double beds while Kai gets the single. 

Taehyun isn’t exactly overjoyed about it, but at least he isn’t as bad as Beomgyu’s exaggerated reaction. 

“Seriously? I want a rematch.” Beomgyu demands.

“No such thing with this game. It’s just your luck, Gyu.” Yeonjun teases, ‘winking’ at him. 

Beomgyu sighs in exasperation as he grumbles and drags his belongings to his shared room with Taehyun. Taehyun silently trudges behind, conflicted. He’s already quite awkward with Beomgyu, not knowing how to approach the boy or engage him. Because Taehyun has already expressed his knowledge of the crane, it seems like he only annoys Beomgyu the more he tries to talk to him. Perhaps this trip is a chance to prove himself. To convince Beomgyu that he doesn’t have ulterior motives, and that he’s genuine. Taehyun sees an opportunity, but with it comes challenges. 

“We’re just sleeping in the same room, okay?” Beomgyu says as he throws his duffel bag on the left bed, by the window. “I don’t want to hear you interrogating me about the crane or anything like that. I already told you I’m not telling you.” 

“Calm down, Beomgyu. I wasn’t planning on it at all.” Taehyun smiles. “I just want to get to know you better during this trip. Nothing else.” 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. But if I hear _anything_ about the crane, I’m sleeping on the couch.” He scoffs as he walks out. 

Taehyun nods to himself. No mentioning or asking about the crane. He can do that. He hasn’t asked Beomgyu about the crane since the time he asked about his feather, which was months ago. His curiosity eats at him, but he supposes the crane is still alive at least, based on the way Beomgyu speaks about it. Surely, he can still see its magnificent beauty, even just one more time. 

They spend the rest of the night orienting themselves with the house and exploring the different rooms. Thankfully there are two bathrooms, so the boys aren’t waiting too long for their turn. Kai immediately sets up his Nintendo Switch, but agrees not to play it until the next day, as per Soobin’s request. They agree to get an early night of sleep, exhausted from the week of cramming study for exams, and to energise themselves for the days ahead. 

“Have fun sharing a room with Taehyun!” He hears Yeonjun tease. 

“Shut up.” Beomgyu hits him in the arm, walking towards their room with an annoyed look. 

“Night, everyone.” Soobin says before turning the lights off. 

Taehyun settles in the comfort of the soft bed, a single bedside table with a lamp on top separating the two. Beomgyu enters the room, leaving the door open before hopping into his own bed. 

“You’d better not have an alarm set.” He yawns. “I need my sleep.”

“I’ll turn it off while we’re here.” Taehyun smiles. 

“Good.” Beomgyu immediately turns towards the wall, his back to Taehyun.

**_1 New Message_ **

**taehyun**

> good night

**beomgyu**

you could’ve just said it? <

**taehyun**

> i always message you good night

**beomgyu**

weirdo <

whatever <

good night <

Taehyun smiles to himself, wondering what Beomgyu looks like right now. Did he make the boy smile, even a little? He closes his eyes and lets the much-needed sleep overtake his body. 

Taehyun wakes up before Beomgyu and allows himself to admire his sleeping figure under soft beams of sunlight for a moment. The feather he wears around his neck sparkles with every flicker of light. Disregarding his distant personality, Beomgyu is undoubtedly attractive. Although Taehyun can’t remember the face of the crane boy, he vaguely wonders if he’d grown up to look even more beautiful than when they were younger. 

Taehyun breaks contact as Beomgyu stirs, turning towards Taehyun and snoring softly. Beomgyu works three days a week and is on the morning shift no less, so it’s no surprise that he’s exhausted from a busy semester. Taehyun lets him sleep as he changes his clothes and heads out of the room, closing it behind him. 

“Morning, Taehyun!” Yeonjun chirps happily from the kitchen. 

“You’re up early. It’s still 8AM. You can sleep a bit more, you know.” Soobin smiles. 

“Ahh, I guess it was out of habit.” Taehyun chuckles. “Are you two heading somewhere?” 

“Gotta go food shopping, since we didn’t go last night.” Yeonjun laughs sheepishly. “Wanna come with? We can leave Gyu and Kai to sleep, and we’ll leave behind the spare key.” 

“I might go for a run, actually. I’ve been a bit slack since exams started.” 

“Sounds good! Make sure you’re careful and you watch where you’re going. Oh, and don’t get lost. Keep your phone on you.” 

“Yes, mother.” Taehyun jokes, earning a playful hit from Soobin. 

Taehyun bids the two farewell and watches the car roll out of the driveway before getting himself ready for his morning run. 

When he returns, an hour later, Kai is lying on the couch watching the television. 

“Getting back into your morning runs?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been slacking off recently. Is Beomgyu up?” 

“Should be in your room. Came out for food and went back when he didn’t find anything.” Kai chuckles. 

“Okay. Yeonjun and Soobin should be back soon with food.” 

“Juni-hyung texted me saying they’re 15 minutes away.” 

“Cute.” 

“Wha-”

“He didn’t message the group chat.” 

Taehyun quickly runs away, dodging the pillow thrown in his direction. 

“You’re back.” Beomgyu says, looking up from his phone as he sits on his bed, back against the wall. 

“Went out for a morning run. Yeonjun-hyung and Soobin-hyung are coming back with food in 15 minutes.” Taehyun says as he grabs a change of clothes and his towel. “Did you sleep well?”

“It was good.” 

“That’s good to hear. Usually you only reply with ‘fine’ or ‘whatever’.” Taehyun giggles softly. 

“Shut up. Go shower, you smell.”

Taehyun laughs momentarily before heading to the bathroom across the hallway to take a shower. When he gets out, the others (read: Yeonjun) are already making breakfast. Afterwards, they get ready to bush walk through the forest to the lake. Their afternoon is filled with water fights and jumping off rocks and more swimming, perfect for the sunny weather. Taehyun catches Beomgyu laughing and smiling along with them, and it seems genuine enough for Taehyun to be happy that Beomgyu is enjoying himself. Kai pushes Yeonjun off the tallest rock, and gets wrestled in the water in return when he jumps off. Soobin and Beomgyu sit by the side, inspecting rocks as Soobin tries to teach him how to skip stones. Taehyun lets himself relax for the first time in a while as he admires the beautiful scenery and laughter of his friends. 

They shower and rest for a little before Yeonjun makes dinner (seeing as he’s the only proper chef). 

“I can make anything with eggs!” Kai argues.

“You really won’t get sick of them, will you?” Yeonjun laughs, ruffling Kai’s hair. 

“I can bake cookies.” Soobin says. “I’ll even make some for you guys.” 

“I can make the basics.” Taehyun says. “Sometimes I cook for Kai and myself. How about you, Beomgyu?” 

“I make coffee.” 

“That’s true, you’re the only one who makes my coffee just right.” Taehyun chuckles.

“Hey, I make good caramel macchiatos!” Yeonjun pouts. 

“Not as good as Beomgyu.” 

Taehyun doesn’t notice how Beomgyu’s ears get a bit pinker. 

Exhausted from playing in the river, they sleep early again (Kai manages to convince Soobin that they should stay up and watch movies and play games on the last night) and the night goes as usual. 

**_1 New Message_ **

**taehyun**

> you looked happy today

**beomgyu**

stalker <

Taehyun chuckles audibly in their silent room. 

**taehyun**

> i mean it. smiles look good on you

**beomgyu**

good night <

Taehyun chuckles softly again and wonders if Beomgyu is embarrassed. 

**taehyun**

> sleep well

On Sunday, they drive to the nearest shopping mall, which is half an hour away, and explore the different shops. They all end up buying at least one thing: clothes for Yeonjun, music albums for Beomgyu, new shoes for Kai, purple hair dye for Soobin, and Taehyun buys a book that he’d been looking for for ages. When they get home, they fill their afternoon with video games and more rest. Beomgyu laments the fact that he didn’t bring his guitar. Instead of Yeonjun cooking dinner, the other four decide to cook for him. They make some of the biggest messes (Soobin and Beomgyu letting the pot overflow, and Kai dropping his egg omelettes as he tries to transfer them to the plate), but they have fun, even if Yeonjun has to save the kitchen in the end. 

“I demand a re-match!” Kai exclaims after they finish eating their dessert they’d bought the day before. 

“You’re on, kid! I’ll beat you any day!” Yeonjun taunts. 

“If I win, you have to stop calling me a kid!” 

“Deal!”

“I’m going to sleep early.” Beomgyu says quietly as he gets up to put his bowl in the sink. 

“Okay. Good night!” Soobin smiles before going back to setting up the game. 

_‘It’s so early though. He must be really tired.’_ Taehyun thinks curiously. 

After a few rounds, the two boys keep tying; their competition is endless. Taehyun remembers that he’d looked it up before, and it’s a full moon tonight. He made it his mission to see the lake again, like when he was younger, under the full moon. He hasn’t had the opportunity in the past ten years to ever see a moonlit lake again, and this is his opportunity. 

“I’m going out to the lake.” 

“Now? At this time?” Soobin asks worriedly. “Why do you want to go to the lake?” 

“I want to see it under the full moon. I haven’t seen one since I was young.” 

“Sure…” Soobin says, unconvinced. “Do you want one of us to go with you?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve got my phone and a flashlight, and I remember the path from before.” 

“Are you sure? What if you get hurt and can’t call us?” 

“Soobin-hyung, I’ll be fine. I can manage by myself. I did it once when I was a kid. I’ll be fine.” 

“If you say so… but be back within an hour, okay? It takes twenty minutes just to get to the lake.”

“I know. I’ll be safe.” Taehyun smiles.

Taehyun puts on a warm jacket and heads out, following the path to the lake (which was helpfully mapped out by the people in the neighbourhood when the lake became a popular tourist attraction). The tranquility of the forest and crunching of dirt beneath his feet remind him of his childhood that he still clings onto. He slowly remembers—there’s an opening, and the vast lake suddenly comes into view—as he walks into the open. 

The view is stunning, the full moon reflected brightly on the fragmented surface of the lake. The wind blows gently like a whistle, and the sounds of the river flowing can be heard distantly. Now that Taehyun is seeing it as an almost-adult, it’s more beautiful than what he remembers. Each glimmer of light catches his eye. He breathes in the woody scents and smells of freshwater. 

All is peaceful and silent, until he realises he’s not alone. There are ripples in the water, and the sound of… splashing?

He looks to his right, and in the distance, is a crane, drinking and cleaning itself. 

_‘No way. Could it be?’_

Taehyun slowly edges closer, footsteps careful and as silent as possible. He gets closer, and confirms his suspicions. 

It’s the crane. His crane that he saw ten years ago. 

The crane is as beautiful and stunning as what Taehyun remembers, delicately long wings sparkling in the moonlight. Its slender legs make the slightest of ripples in the water. 

But why is it here? Does it live around here, and Taehyun just managed to catch sight of it? 

Unless…

Taehyun decides to take a shot. The timing lines up. His suspicions from the past few months. The feather around his neck. 

Surely…

“Beomgyu?”

* * *

Taehyun steps out and walks slowly towards the crane. The crane perks its head up in shock, and its wings spread out, ready to take flight.

“Wait! Please, wait. If it’s really you… please… I don’t want to hurt you. Even if you only _know_ Beomgyu… I’m a friend of his. I won’t hurt you, I promise.” Taehyun holds up his hands in surrender as he edges closer to the water. 

The crane stares at him, observing him with its clear black eyes. It lowers its wings again, folding them at its sides. 

“I just… It might sound weird… but I’ve fallen in love with your beauty since the time I met you, ten years ago. I’ve been curious about your human identity, but that’s beside the point. All I’ve ever wanted is to see you again… and my wish has been granted.” Taehyun smiles. “I… I understand if you want to fly away, or if you’re disgusted… but I want to get to know you. The crane side of you _and_ the human side of you.”

Taehyun sits down on a rock, letting out a shaky breath. 

“Maybe you’re friends with Beomgyu, and that’s why he’s always gone once a month, and why he’s so mysterious sometimes… but I want to be your friend too. Of course, I don’t want to pressure Beomgyu into telling me… but I genuinely want to know you. I don’t want to research you, but instead, I want to discover you.”

The crane hesitates at first, and then walks slowly towards Taehyun, inching closer to him, unsettling the water as it treads through it. It stops in front of Taehyun and lowers its head, its signature red crown turned towards him. He reaches out a shaky hand, and pats its head, gently stroking the soft feathers. His hands travel down its beak, slightly wet, but shiny and smooth. 

Taehyun gets startled when it pulls away, standing upright again. 

Nothing prepares him for what happens next. 

The crane spreads its wings, and then covers itself, emitting a dazzling light. Taehyun averts his eyes briefly, looking back when the light has vanished. 

Standing in front of him… is Beomgyu. 

His feather sways gently in the wind, sparkling in the moonlight. His eyes sparkle like stars, and Taehyun sees the resemblance from when he was younger.

“It really _is_ you…” Taehyun mouth gapes open slightly in shock. He’d had his suspicions, but he couldn’t be sure until this moment. 

“Guess I should’ve known you’d be smart enough to figure it out.” 

“You were always such a mystery. Your ‘off days’ only made you more suspicious.”

Beomgyu huffs out a soft laugh, as if admitting defeat.

“I… Look, I don’t know why I didn’t fly away. I’m confused, but… something told me that I might as well show you the truth.” Beomgyu sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t trust you. I… I’m a bit of a special case, and I’d kill myself before I let myself fall into filthy human hands.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I don’t expect you to trust me straight away.” Taehyun smiles, relieved that Beomgyu felt comfortable enough to reveal himself. “I’m just glad I found you again. Do… do you remember that night?”

“Of course.” Beomgyu chuckles. “I got seen for the first time, by a scrawny little human, no less. I got so scared I turned back into a human early that night. I couldn’t risk you telling anyone and getting myself hunted.”

“Early…?” Taehyun mutters curiously to himself before regretting it as he sees Beomgyu’s head perk up. “Oh, you don’t need to tell me anything, by the way. I’m happy just knowing it’s you.” 

Taehyun blushes, feeling slightly embarrassed that he just admitted he’s kind of been in love with a crane (who is actually Beomgyu) for more than half his life. 

“I might as well…” Beomgyu sighs again. “You deserve an explanation for the abomination that I am.” 

“You’re not an abomination.” Taehyun says immediately. “You’re unique.” 

Beomgyu gives a small smile and steps out of the water, pants soaked as Taehyun moves across the rock to give Beomgyu room to sit. Beomgyu lets out a shaky breath and fiddles with his feather before beginning to speak. 

“I’m cursed. I was originally a crane, but I happened to be next in a long line of cursed cranes. Our story goes back generations ago. It’s kind of a long one.” Beomgyu says, pursing his lips together. 

“I’m here to listen.” Taehyun says. 

“Okay. Well, it all started generations ago, with a princess and my ancestor, a crane. He stumbled upon her crying one day, in the forest, and he offered his comfort. Of course, he couldn’t talk to her or anything, but I guess the princess was a bit weird, because she started to talk to him, even if she thought he wouldn’t understand. She confided in him and told him about her worries. She didn’t want to be wed to a prince, and wanted to be free to love. 

My ancestor understood her pain of feeling trapped and tied down by duty, rather than being herself. She befriended him, visiting him often. Apparently he would bring her flowers, and sometimes various ingredients that she could use for cooking and baking. He enjoyed seeing her smile, and of course, as all predictable stories go, he fell in love with her. 

They met every night… but one night, she didn’t turn up. He waited, but she didn’t turn up the next night… or the night after that. He didn’t see her for a month. When he finally decided to visit her at the castle, he saw her with a prince. He felt... betrayed. Furious. He loved her and he worried about her for the past month… only to find her well and smiling with a prince. He left with a heavy heart, and he tried to forget about her from then on. 

She certainly didn’t make it easy when she brought the prince to their lake, a few months later. Apparently she’d told the prince about him, and how he’d listen to her every night. But my ancestor was angry. He saw that she loved the prince, especially since she’d brought him to her special place. He didn’t see her for a while after that. 

Two weeks later, she snuck out to meet him at their usual place. My ancestor lived around there, so naturally, he heard her when she called out for him. He appeared again in front of her, and she apologised, saying she was engaged to the prince and had been busy making preparations. According to the story, he forgave her, and let her hug him again as a sign of it. He offered her some berries as a gift. They were nightshade berries. Poisonous for humans. She ate them, and slowly got sick, the poison spreading throughout her body. She died in front of him, right there and then. 

Whether he knew they were poisonous or not, and had planned to kill her, is still a mystery. Some people say it was a mistake, because he loved her, and others say he killed her out of spite and anger. 

Either way, he flew away, out of guilt, or so he wouldn’t be found, nobody knows. The prince eventually found her after she was missing, and the kingdom grieved her mysterious death. My ancestor thought he got away with it… but the goddess, Areum. She knew. 

She cursed him, because whether he did it on purpose or not, one thing was clear. My ancestor hated humans, ever since the princess betrayed him. He broke the balance and peace between animals and humans. The goddess cursed him, so that in his family line, every few generations at least one child would be human, only allowed to shift into a crane once a month. Every full moon. 

My ancestor was never taught how to break the curse… and generations later, no one has figured it out.” Beomgyu clenches his interlocked hands together. 

“But… How long did they live? Surely they had tens of years to figure it out.” Taehyun says. 

Beomgyu shakes his head and says softly, “You only have until 20. After the cursed one turns 20, they can no longer change into a crane. You’re bound to the life of a human forever.”

“20? That’s… so short.” Taehyun gasps in disbelief. “That means that you…”

“I only have around nine months to figure it out.” Beomgyu grits his teeth. “And I still haven’t got a clue.” 

“I… I’m sorry to hear that.” Taehyun says softly. 

“I fucking hate it. I… I hate being a human. It’s so suffocating and I’m trapped in this useless body, having to work and study and do all these things that society deems as important.” Beomgyu spits. His fists clench, knuckles growing white as he glares a hole into the ground. 

“Well, the curse certainly explains your personality.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“You think this is funny?” 

“No, I don’t, actually. I’m sorry that you can’t be a crane all the time anymore. And that’s why I want to help you.” Taehyun says firmly, eyes set on Beomgyu’s. 

“What? Taehyun, that’s not why I told you, damn it. I don’t need your fucking pity.” Beomgyu furrows his brow. 

“I don’t pity you. I think you’re beautiful as a crane, but the human ‘you’ is just as beautiful.” Taehyun smiles shyly. “I’m not doing this out of obligation, but because I want you to be free. I want you to be happy.” 

Beomgyu sighs, rubbing his temple. 

“Fuck off. Humans can’t be trusted.” He scoffs. 

“That’s what you’ve been taught to think. But I’ll convince you that we’re okay, and that we can be good too.” 

Beomgyu takes a moment to look into his eyes, as if analysing him and considering Taehyun’s words.

“Just…” Beomgyu groans. “Don’t tell anyone else about this, or you’ll regret it.”

“I won’t. I promise. You can trust me.” Taehyun smiles.

Beomgyu looks away, ignoring how his heart skipped a beat, and fixes his hair out of habit. 

“Anyway, you should go back, before the others start to get worried.” 

“Oh crap, you’re right.” Taehyun gasps, checking the time and chuckling, “So you do care after all, hmm?” 

“Shut it. I don’t care, but obviously I want you all in one piece.” 

“That literally means you care about us.”

“Look, put it this way, you’re the only people I hang around and that I can tolerate more than others. I didn’t spend time with you all for months only to end up alone. Human society values friendships, and that’s what I’m doing. Fitting in.” Beomgyu stands up and dusts the dirt from his bottom. 

“Hmm, whatever you say.” Taehyun hums, unconvinced. “I think you don’t realise it, but you like us more than you think you do.” 

Beomgyu frowns and looks away. 

“I’ll walk you back.” He says under his breath, barely audible, if not for the silence of the night and the quiet lake surrounding them. 

“You’re not coming home?” Taehyun asks as he gets up, brushing the dirt off and leading them along the path. 

“Normally I’d get to stay as a crane for a day, from one night to the next.” Beomgyu explains. “Can’t exactly do that while we’re away together. I’ll be back in bed in the morning, don’t worry.”

“That makes sense.” Taehyun says. “I feel bad that we’ve wasted one of your days as a crane.”

“Couldn’t be helped. It just happened that way.” 

“Well, that’s something, though. You care about us enough to sacrifice your time as a crane.” Taehyun smiles at him, giggling softly.

“Stop trying to analyse me, idiot. Remember, I only tolerate you all and do what any normal human would do.” 

Beomgyu puts his hands in his pockets and walks faster, not speaking another word to Taehyun the whole way back. 

“Can I watch you transform back?” 

“Fuck no.” 

And just like Beomgyu promised, he’s asleep in bed the next morning when Taehyun wakes up first again. He must be exhausted, since he likely slept as a crane, but then had to fly back and transform to sleep as a human again. Taehyun obviously can’t imagine what being a crane is like, but it must be tiring to switch between the two forms. 

As he gazes upon the sleeping boy, his heart starts to beat faster and he feels something weird in his stomach. 

_‘This is the beautiful crane you’ve wanted to see for so long. And he’s also a beautiful human boy who has caught your eye since the day you first met.’_

Taehyun shakes his head. He does not have any feelings for Beomgyu whatsoever. Yes, he has an embarrassing ten-year crush on a crane (crane-boy?), but now that he knows that Beomgyu and his crane are the same, everything changes. It’s hard to believe Beomgyu is the same beautiful boy he saw that night, even though 8-year-old Taehyun didn’t know what it meant to fall in love at first sight. 

Now that he knows Beomgyu is the beautiful crane, perhaps it will help him to move on and get rid of these feelings, especially seeing how distant and rude Beomgyu is sometimes. Like he said the previous night, Beomgyu only tolerates them, and he hates humans. It’s something that Taehyun definitely did not expect from him. Their relationship aside, he thought that Beomgyu was best friends with Yeonjun and Soobin. How could that all be fake? Just when he thought his crane boy could be nice and sweet, his expectations were shattered by Beomgyu. 

Either way, Taehyun has a bigger issue and mission at hand. He needs to figure out how to break Beomgyu’s curse. If generations of his family have never figured it out, how exactly will they figure it out in only nine months? 

Taehyun smiles to himself. Looking at it another way, it’s a challenge. He’ll definitely find out how to break the curse. So that Beomgyu can be happy.


	3. iii

Monday brings exploration of the neighbourhood and local community as they walk around greeting the people and make their way to the markets downtown. They buy some of the best food they’ve ever had before (“They’re our secret recipes!” One of the men boasted), and buy some handmade trinkets and crafts. There’s also food and other essential items that they need for their barbecue and campfire night, since it’s their last night. Upon returning home, they do their own things, with Soobin reading a book on the front porch and Yeonjun and Kai playing games together. 

Surprisingly, Beomgyu agrees when Taehyun asks if he’d like to go for a walk around the forest again, since he doesn’t "have anything better to do”. Most of the walk is quiet and tranquil as they traverse the path in a comfortable silence. Taehyun catches Beomgyu’s poignant gaze as he looks around at the trees and the birds chirp happily. 

“What’s it like? Being a crane?”

An exhale. 

“Freedom. Not being tied down by anything. Being free to fly and go wherever I want.” 

“Sounds nice. I guess you’d move around a lot.” 

“The sedge lives in grasslands and wetlands most of the time. Once you’re old enough, you’re free to go where you want.” Beomgyu sighs, as if pondering something deeply. 

“So you don’t stay with the… sedge?” 

“Perhaps if I wasn’t cursed, I’d travel with them… but all cursed cranes are despised and hated. Looked down upon with pity.” Beomgyu kicks a rock. 

“That must be lonely.” 

“Yeah… it is.” 

Taehyun’s heart aches as he sees the pain flash on Beomgyu’s face. He never asked for this. It was something bestowed upon him since birth, and he’s been an outcast ever since. 

“Have you… have you been alone ever since you were a baby?” Taehyun asks nervously. 

“The sedge agrees to look after a cursed crane until they’re five. By then, we can fly independently. It’s only out of obligation, though. The sedge couldn’t care less about us, since we’re doomed to stay as humans anyway.” Beomgyu explains, expressionless. 

“Do you have parents?” 

“If you can call them that.” Beomgyu scoffs. “It’s more of an arranged marriage. They only took care of me out of obligation. My crane mother and siblings couldn’t care less about my father and I, so he had to marry another cursed crane to be my human mother and raise me.” 

Taehyun decides not to press the issue further, for fear of venturing too deep into Beomgyu’s personal life. He’s never heard about Beomgyu’s parents, but it doesn’t sound like the greatest environment to grow up in. As they walk back, Taehyun feels like he understands Beomgyu more, and he has a sliver of hope that Beomgyu trusts him a little bit more too.

They get back in time to prepare for their barbecue feast and just as Yeonjun wins the game. 

“I’ll beat you next time!” Kai boasts.

“Try your best, kiddo.” Yeonjun laughs, flicking his forehead. 

Kai blushes and pouts, but it goes unnoticed by Yeonjun once again. They have their barbecue in the backyard as the weather cools down, enjoying the still-bright sky. This time, nothing is burnt, thanks to Beomgyu’s surprisingly excellent grilling skills and Yeonjun’s supervision. By the time the sun sets and the sky settles into night, they start up a campfire (since Kai insisted on it) despite the weather. 

“It’s for the vibes, guys, the vibes!” Kai explained happily. 

As they share stories and jokes and laughter, Taehyun finds himself grateful for his new group of friends. His sister had always told him that friends would be what get him through university, and even one semester in, he believes her words. He had friends in high school, but most of them decided to attend other universities, or pursue different things. He’s glad that Kai was so easy to get along with, and that thanks to him, he’s been welcomed into their friendship group. 

He sees Beomgyu and as he locks eyes with him, he smiles. The other turns away quickly, to Taehyun’s confusion. He definitely saw Beomgyu smile and laugh genuinely before, so he’s even more grateful that Beomgyu even came along, whether Taehyun would have known he’d find out or not. 

When they get too hot for the campfire, they put it out and head back inside for movies, like Soobin promised Kai. Yeonjun grabs all the leftover snacks they hadn’t eaten yet, while Kai brings their blankets and pillows to make themselves comfortable. Taehyun and Beomgyu seat themselves on the floor while Kai sits next to Yeonjun, with Soobin on the other side. There’s no set list of movies they had decided on, but somehow they end up picking a comedy, then a drama, and then a romance movie. Soobin goes to bed after the drama finishes (and it’s midnight), since he needs his rest so he can drive the next day. Beomgyu however, surprisingly isn’t tired, and claims he’s fine, staying to watch the romance movie. By the time they’re halfway through the movie, Yeonjun and Kai are cuddled together, sleeping peacefully. Taehyun doesn’t realise until he turns around to look for a snack. 

“They fell asleep cuddling. How cute.” Taehyun chuckles softly. 

“They must be tired.” 

“Are you tired? Do you want to call it a night?” 

“No, I want to finish.” 

Taehyun realises Beomgyu’s gaze hasn’t left the screen, eyes trained on the moving characters and listening to the dialogue. It’s as if… he’s fascinated by the movie and genuinely invested. 

“That’s surprising. I wouldn’t think you’d like it, especially since you hate talking about that kind of stuff.” Taehyun starts to put away the food, deciding against eating too much. 

“I hate talking about it because I don’t understand it.” Beomgyu sighs, leaning back against the couch. “Soobin-hyung’s been teasing Yeonjun-hyung about it for ages, and sometimes they’d ask me for advice, but I never knew what to say.”

“Maybe it’s because love is complicated. There’s no straightforward answer.” Taehyun muses. 

“You humans are so weird. Does any of this stuff actually happen in real life?” Beomgyu asks in disbelief. 

“Sure it does. Maybe it’s not as perfect as the movies, but love is different for everyone.” 

Beomgyu sighs, and Taehyun can tell he still can’t quite grasp the concept. 

“Isn’t it the same with animals? Don’t you love your fellow animals? And how about mating? That’s love.” Taehyun says curiously. 

“It’s different, though.” Beomgyu chews on his bottom lip, flashing the familiar pained look. 

He turns back to the film, determined to finish it and study the mannerisms of the foreign creatures he hates so much. With only the light from the television illuminating Beomgyu’s face and the reflected scenes flickering across his eyes, Taehyun forgets how to breathe for a moment. All of the background noise drowns out, and he only sees Beomgyu. He sees a lonely crane stuck in the body of a human, confused about love and yet captured by the fiction playing across the screen. He sees a boy who needs to understand humans, even though he doesn’t want to, because he might end up stuck as a human for the rest of his life. He doesn’t feel pity, but a sort of… admiration. That and… a longing to help this boy understand, and to see him smile and laugh and cry genuinely, not out of forced actions or obligations. 

When the movie finishes and the couple end up happily ever after together, Beomgyu keeps his stoic face. He doesn’t comment on it anymore, getting up to clear their rubbish. Taehyun follows suit, padding his way to the kitchen. He drapes the blanket over Yeonjun and Kai, smiling and vaguely wondering how either will react in the morning. Then again, it definitely isn’t the first time it’s happened, judging from how Kai’s bed is always abnormally neat. He and Beomgyu switch off the lights and get ready for bed themselves. 

“Beomgyu, I’ll help you understand.” Taehyun says softly as they’re settled in bed, the moonlight streaming gently through the window. 

“I don’t need your help.” He grunts softly. 

“Too bad. You’re stuck with me.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“You’re so annoying.” 

“So what? I’m not making an offer. I’m telling it to you straight.” Taehyun turns towards him. “I’m helping you break the curse, no matter what it takes.” 

“Why?” 

A pause. 

“Why are you so desperate? What’s in it for you? Isn’t that what all humans are like? Only doing things for their own selfish gain?” 

“Not all humans.” Taehyun smiles. “Can’t I just wish for my crane to be happy?”

Beomgyu doesn’t answer. 

“Good night.” Taehyun says before closing his heavy eyes and succumbing to his slumber. 

_‘Happy.’_

Beomgyu’s mind doesn’t allow him to sleep straight away, the words and thoughts eating at him and stretching him until his body is too exhausted to stay awake. 

_‘Not all humans.’_

It’s Tuesday morning, and time to start getting ready to leave. Soobin wakes up first and sneaks a photo of Yeonjun and Kai cuddling together (still very much asleep) before starting to pack up around the house and checking that they don’t leave anything behind. By 10 o’clock, they’re all awake (Beomgyu being the last), and Taehyun regrets not being able to witness Yeonjun and Kai waking up. Judging from their awkwardness around each other, he gathers that they must have both been embarrassed. 

_‘Honestly, they’re so dense and confusing.’_

For the ride home, they decide by ‘scissors-paper-rock’ again, and this time, Taehyun is in Beomgyu’s car by himself. Soobin is stuck with Yeonjun and Kai, who have somewhat recovered and are thankful that they’re not alone together. Beomgyu sighs, clicking his tongue as he starts to put his things in the car. Taehyun would feel offended, but he knows that Beomgyu doesn’t completely hate it, at least. 

The car ride is actually quite pleasant, or so Taehyun would believe. He doesn’t ask about anything regarding the curse (since he’d already interrogated Beomgyu so much in the past few days), and instead, he learns about Beomgyu’s music taste, and his passion for music. 

_‘Of course. We study almost the same things. Why haven’t we bonded over this before?’_ Taehyun mentally scolds himself. 

Beomgyu complains about his first year of music composition, telling Taehyun about the stupid assignments and things he’ll learn in second semester, and he learns more about why Taehyun loves music (an influence from watching his favourite idols and growing up listening to music) and possibly wants to pursue a professional career in singing. Beomgyu tells Taehyun about how a guitar was the only thing his father had ever bought him, and how he instantly fell in love with the sounds and the words that came together in harmony and song. 

“Let me hear one of your songs one day.” Taehyun says excitedly.

“Hell no. Only _I_ get to hear them.” Beomgyu retorts firmly. 

Two and a half hours, two pit stops, one McDonald’s run, and three playlists later, they finally arrive home. Beomgyu drops Taehyun off at his and Kai’s place and is about to bid him farewell when Taehyun stops him abruptly. 

“Wait, will you be working at the café during the holidays?” 

“Hmm… the café is still open, but just with less workers. I’m definitely working next week.” 

“Great. I’ll visit you, then.” Taehyun smiles. 

“Yeah, sure.” Beomgyu quickly turns away. “See you, Taehyun.”

“See you, Beomgyu.” 

When Kai gets home fifteen minutes later, Taehyun immediately interrogates him.

“So what’s up with you and Yeonjun-hyung?” 

“Wha- What do you mean?” Kai stutters. 

“You and Yeonjun-hyung cuddling on the couch asleep? Or maybe I should mention that you literally slept with him every night?” 

“How did you know about that?!” Kai gasps in shock. 

“I didn’t. You just confirmed it.” Taehyun smirks. 

“Ugh, I hate you.” Kai groans, flopping onto his bed. 

“Come on, you clearly didn’t come out as boyfriends yet, or else you two would’ve been disgusting, no doubt.” Taehyun laughs. 

“Nothing happened, okay? I just… We used to sleepover a lot when we were kids, and I missed that. I… I missed Juni-hyung.” Kai admits with a sad look. 

“You two seriously need to talk about it. You’re both pining idiots, and _one_ of you has to make the first move.” 

“He still sees me as a kid! He hardly ever calls me Kai anymore! It’s always ‘kid’ and ‘kiddo’! He’ll never see me as anything other than his little brother.” Kai grumbles into his pillow. 

“You don’t know that, okay?” Taehyun says gently. “Yeonjun-hyung is an idiot too. I’m sure he’s just too embarrassed to admit he sees you as something more. Just think about it, Kai.”

Kai muffles a grunt in response. 

They all meet together again on Tuesday at the café, during their lunch break. Since it’s their summer holidays, most people return home or go travelling, leaving the campus bare and empty. The only customers are the hard-working lecturers and staff, the random strangers that don’t even attend the university (since it’s open to the public), and the occasional dorm student in need of their coffee fix. 

“Oh yeah, by the way, we’re heading home for a week.” Kai says to Beomgyu and Taehyun. “We were talking about it in the car, and Soobin-hyung agreed to come with us! He’s never been to our hometown before, and we thought it’d be nice to bring him along.” 

“Do you two have plans?” Soobin asks. 

“My parents literally live half an hour away, so I visit them often enough.” Taehyun chuckles.

“I’m heading back home for a week, but not until the first week of August.” Beomgyu says, taking a sip from his drink.

“Great! Taehyunnie can keep you company!” Kai grins as Beomgyu almost chokes on his drink. 

“What?” They ask in unison. 

“Well, I don’t want Beomgyu-hyung to miss out if all four of us are hanging out, so why not take Taehyunnie with you?” Kai giggles, as if he’s thought about this before. 

“Kai, Beomgyu doesn’t need to do that. I’m fine just staying on campus.” Taehyun sighs. 

“But then you’ll be lonely! And besides, Beomgyu can show you Daegu! You’ve never been there before. It’s like we’re all travelling together, but in two different groups!” 

“Look, Beomgyu wouldn’t like that-”

“Do you want to go?” Beomgyu cuts in, staring at Taehyun.

“I… What?” Taehyun asks, confused. 

Beomgyu runs a hand through his hair and stares down at his drink, chewing his lip nervously again. 

“I mean… It’s not that much of a hassle. And it’s probably a lot more fun than staying here.” 

“He’s right, Taehyunnie! You should go!” Kai nudges Taehyun playfully. 

“O-Okay.” Taehyun says shyly after a while. 

“Awesome. I’ll tell Eomma we’re coming down in the first week of August.” Yeonjun smiles. 

Taehyun debates dragging Kai outside and scolding him, but he decides it’s better to leave it for when they’re at home. He’s surprised by how Beomgyu is so willing to let him go to Daegu with him, especially if he’s visiting his parents. He feels a small seed of anxiety grow as he thinks about spending a week away with Beomgyu, no less spending time with his parents, when they still don’t really know each other that well, the curse and music aside. Their friendship is still growing very gradually, and Taehyun worries that he’ll make it too awkward or mess something up. 

Unexpectedly, Beomgyu reassures him later, while Yeonjun leaves to handle something in the back and Soobin shows Kai their range of leftover dessert. 

“You’re okay with it, right?” He asks. “Not that I care or anything. I just wanted to check.” 

“You totally do care.” Taehyun chuckles. “If anything, I should be the one asking if it’s okay. Aren’t your parents going to find it weird?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about them. I rent a cheap place every time and I only eat dinner with them probably once in the whole week.” Beomgyu laughs bitterly. He says it so casually that it makes Taehyun wonder what kind of people they must be, and he thinks about Beomgyu’s voice, void of any affection whatsoever. 

Taehyun lets out a relieved sigh and says, “Good. I don’t really want them to think it’s weird, me tagging along with you for the week. I was scared I’d have to live with them the whole time.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I spend the week by myself, usually shopping or relaxing. Oh, and of course transforming for a day, but that’s about it.” 

“Why bother visiting for a whole week, then, if you only eat dinner with them once?” Taehyun asks, instantly regretting it and muttering a “sorry” afterwards. 

“It’s fine. I _did_ technically grow up in Daegu, so sometimes I visit old places and just… get away from the city, I suppose.” Beomgyu tightens his hold on his cup of coffee. “Daegu is different. A lot more quiet. You’ll probably like it for a change.” 

“I can’t wait.” Taehyun smiles, blushing lightly, the weight slightly lifted off his shoulders. 

He’ll worry about meeting his parents later, but for now, the idea of going away with Beomgyu and spending a week with him fills Taehyun with excitement and joy—somehow even more than he had before their trip with the other three—and he feels a strange exhilaration that keeps him smiling late into the night, before he sleeps.

* * *

The train to Daegu takes about two hours, since Beomgyu claimed it wouldn’t be fun if he drove them around all the time. Without any words, Beomgyu shares his earphones with Taehyun and they take turns listening to each other’s playlists again. They also enjoy the scenery flying past their window, Taehyun taking the occasional photo and even sneaking some of Beomgyu, much to his disapproval. 

The place Beomgyu stays in is an apartment borrowed from a ‘friend’ at a cheaper price, and not too far a walk from the station. For their first day, Beomgyu shows him around the main area of Daegu, taking him to the nearby shopping centres and walking along the semi-busy streets with him. They visit a convenience store on the way home to buy snacks and instant ramen for their dinner. 

“So what do you want to do tomorrow?” Beomgyu asks as they’re cleaning up after dinner. 

“Hmm, I’ll probably just chill or visit a library.” 

“We can go somewhere more exciting, y’know.”

“But aren’t you spending the day as a crane?” Taehyun smiles, amused at Beomgyu’s slightly shocked face. “You lined up your Daegu visit with the full moon so that you’d have an excuse for this month. So I looked it up.” 

“I… I was planning on spending the day with you.” Beomgyu looks down nervously. “I’d be a bad tour guide if I left you alone for a whole day.”

“Hey, you’re not being a bad tour guide.” Taehyun chuckles. “You already missed last month. Just go. I’ll be fine.” 

“If you say so…” Beomgyu sighs, giving in. 

Taehyun smiles, amused at how much Beomgyu actually does care, even if he denies it so strongly. How strange. Surely it isn’t that easy to get Beomgyu to willingly give up his one day of the month as a crane to spend it with Taehyun. Perhaps they’re making progress? Weirdly enough, Taehyun feels his chest squeeze. 

_‘What is this feeling?’_ He wonders. 

He shrugs it off, but it keeps him up, even when they’re settled in bed in their separate rooms. He’s overthinking, he knows _that_ at least, but… why is he feeling… happy? Hopeful? 

Taehyun wakes up to an empty apartment, Beomgyu having left in the middle of the night, and he finds the note from Beomgyu saying he’d be back late at night. He smiles and hopes that Beomgyu is enjoying his freedom as a crane. He wonders what he does, if he doesn’t spend time with the sedge, but he supposes it’s not his place to ask. Taehyun spends the day roaming the streets, visiting shops and wondering if Beomgyu would like anything he finds, or wondering where Beomgyu would have wanted to go. He’s mostly been leading Taehyun to the popular places and letting Taehyun choose which shops, but Taehyun wonders what kind of shops Beomgyu himself likes, if there are any. The day is uneventful without Beomgyu, not that he’s mad or anything, but a part of him misses Beomgyu, even if he doesn’t realise it. When Beomgyu comes home later that night, Taehyun immediately feels brighter, as if Beomgyu’s presence alone cheers him up. He convinces himself that it’s because Beomgyu is safe and sound, and not for whatever reason his heart beats faster for. 

The next day, they visit the famous Donghwasa temple and do more sightseeing, while on Thursday night, Beomgyu takes Taehyun to the famous Seomun Market as they explore all kinds of foods. Beomgyu comments on how the variety of food is one of the only things he appreciates as a human. When he’s a crane, he mostly feeds on plants, berries, insects, and fish if he’s lucky and skilled enough to hunt. Taehyun loves how Beomgyu’s face lights up and he smiles wide, eating his favourite food, or when he talks excitedly about a particular stall or shop. This is the smile that he wants to see on Beomgyu all the time. 

It’s finally Friday, and the day when Taehyun will meet Beomgyu’s parents. He’s nervous because he doesn’t know what to expect, and judging from how Beomgyu doesn’t seem to be on good terms with them. He didn’t feel like he should go with Beomgyu in the first place, but the elder insisted that he needed company and someone to ease the awkward tension. 

During the day, Beomgyu shows him around his neighbourhood and takes him to places of his childhood, like his school and the local library. He takes Taehyun to his favourite lunch place, and the convenience store he frequented, showing him his favourite snacks and ice creams that he would eat in secret. 

“One of the first times I turned back into a crane, I hated it, because nothing tasted as good as sweet gummy bears and my favourite sour worms.” Beomgyu chuckles. 

As Beomgyu takes him to all these places and tells him about his childhood, Taehyun only finds himself half-listening, the other half focused on how endearing Beomgyu is. Even if he hates being a human, this is still the place where he spent most of his life. He speaks about it with a bland tone, acting like he didn’t enjoy his childhood, but Taehyun doesn’t miss his child-like excitement when he remembers a funny story or recalls a memory associated with a certain place. Apparently he had spent a lot of time hanging around the neighbourhood (most frequently staying in the library studying [both school and general ‘human’ knowledge] or listening to music) because he hated being at home. 

Beomgyu shows him the park near his house where he would escape to almost every day. The swingset is surprisingly still intact despite the rusted and worn-out frame, and there’s even a small jungle gym that Beomgyu would use to climb and stargaze. Beomgyu climbs the jungle gym with ease, staring at the sky with a poignant look, and Taehyun understands. This is a special place. One laced with both happiness only found as a child, and moments of loneliness and pain and feeling separate from the world. Taehyun has the sudden urge to reach out, and to hold his hand—to provide some kind of comfort and presence—but he quickly retracts his hand when Beomgyu looks back at him. 

“Let’s get this over and done with.” He sighs, jumping off the equipment with a clean landing. 

Taehyun makes his way down slowly, not brave enough and not wanting to risk his legs. Beomgyu holds out a hand to help Taehyun, and for some reason, his heart skips a beat. 

“Are you okay? Your ears are a bit pink.” 

Taehyun nods quickly and jumps off when he’s close enough to the ground. They make their way to his house, which is a humble little one amongst many in the neighbourhood. Beomgyu sighs as they reach the front step.

“If you’re ever uncomfortable, just uhh… tap me or something.” Beomgyu says. “I don’t mind.” 

“Y-Yeah, sure. Thanks.” Taehyun looks down shyly. 

The doorbell rings and Taehyun’s heart beats louder against his chest as he clenches his sweaty fists. 

_‘Here we go.’_


	4. iv

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **warning** for swearing, alcohol consumption, minor attempt at violence

“Beomgyu-ah. You’re here.” His mother answers the door. “And you must be Taehyun!”

“Yes, ma’am. Kang Taehyun. It’s lovely to meet you.” Taehyun says, bowing respectfully. 

It’s been a few months since Beomgyu has seen his mother, the last time being during their winter holidays, before the new university year started up again. She still has the same glare in her eyes that silently judge him; black eyes that are void of any love or affection. She’s still dressed prim and proper, since she’s only ever cared about her reputation at work, and dealing with providing for the family since his father clearly can’t do a good job of it. 

“Thank you for coming all this way. It’s good to see Beomgyu has made a friend!” She fakes a smile, tilting her head slightly. “Please come in!”

Beomgyu knows it’s all an act—the whole welcoming and acting like a good mother when she is everything but one—and that if it weren’t for Taehyun, Beomgyu would only be allowed to stay for an hour before being told to leave. He’s never needed to stay that long anyway. If it weren’t for Taehyun, she’d answer the door with her usual dull look and with no smile whatsoever. Whenever there are other people, she transforms into a completely different person. Ever since he was a teenager, he’d called it his mother’s “human side”, as opposed to her true nature and her cursed crane side that was bitter about life. 

He never had a ‘sweet and loving’ mother to raise him well. Even though that was his father’s intentions when he’d married her, none of them ever truly cared for him.

Taehyun and Beomgyu follow his mother into the house, down the hallway and into the open dining area and kitchen. Nothing has changed since the last time he visited, although he notices the vase on the table in the hallway is gone, and the framed family picture on the wall from when he was about seven has been replaced with one from when he was eleven. It’s amazing how they haven’t run out yet, seeing how frequently they get broken. 

They stop by the living room to the right, the stench of alcohol already suffocating the room. His father is slouched on the sofa, watching something he’s probably not even paying attention to, and drinking from his who-knows-which-number bottle of alcohol. Then again, perhaps his mother was able to restrain him, since they were expecting a guest.

“Appa.” Beomgyu says. 

“You’re back, kid.” He says, voice heavy and deep as always. 

“This is my friend, Taehyun.” 

Taehyun visibly tenses and bows, even though Beomgyu’s father doesn’t turn around to even look at them.

“I-I’m Kang Taehyun. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” 

His father grunts and slowly gets up, not stumbling too much; an indicator that he’s probably only had one or two drinks. He looks at Taehyun, who is terrified by the bigger male figure, and then stares into Beomgyu’s eyes, dark and piercing, worse than his mother. 

“You and I will talk later with your eomma.” He takes another swig and walks past them to the dining area. 

“What was that about?” Taehyun asks hesitantly.

“The usual. Asking about the curse.” Beomgyu sighs. “I haven’t told them that you know, and I don’t know how they’d take it, so you’ll probably just be excused upstairs or something.” 

“Okay. Will you be okay by yourself?” 

Beomgyu chuckles, “Are you serious? How many times do you think I’ve sat through the same conversation my whole entire life? I’m used to it, Taehyun. I’ll be fine.”

Perhaps admitting it to himself will make it hurt less.

“If you say so.” Taehyun says softly. 

“Come sit down, the food is ready.” Beomgyu’s mother smiles warmly. 

_‘Don’t get pissed off, Beomgyu.’_ He scolds himself. 

His mother has clearly gone overboard, preparing a feast that is only produced when there are guests coming into their home. If he were alone, she’d prepare his favourite dishes, but only out of courtesy. Even if it was still his mother’s same cooking, it lacked the warmth that made him enjoy it as a child. It lacked the most important ingredient: love. 

“I hope you like it, Taehyun. Beomgyu never told me your preferences, so I made a mix of everything.” She smiles. 

“It looks delicious, Mrs. Choi.” Taehyun smiles shyly, taking a variety of dishes into his bowl of rice. 

“And how is university?” 

Beomgyu almost scoffs mockingly at her attempt to act like a mother for the first time in years, but manages to keep it in. 

“Fine.” 

“Is that all you have to say?” His father asks in his stern tone, judging him.

“I don’t have to tell you anything. Just because Taehyun is here, doesn’t mean you have to suddenly act like you care.” Beomgyu clenches his fists slightly. 

“Watch your mouth, young man. You don’t talk back to me like that.” 

“Since when have you ever cared?!” 

“Dear, Beomgyu, Taehyun is here, please. The both of you can talk it out later.” Beomgyu’s mother places a hand on her husband’s shoulder. 

“I wasn’t the one who started it. I was simply answering like I’ve always done.” Beomgyu scoffs, continuing to eat his food in silence. 

Beomgyu can see Taehyun tense up, gripping his pants under the table. 

“B-Beomgyu’s been working hard at the café. That’s where we met.” Taehyun says cheerfully, attempting to ease the tension. 

“Is that so? Beomgyu’s been working at the café ever since he got to university, but he never tells us about it.” Mrs. Choi perks up, grateful to continue a more positive conversation. 

The rest of the conversation is carried by Taehyun, mainly telling his parents about his experience of university and how Beomgyu has been a big help, and of some of the things they’d done, like the trip away with the other boys. Beomgyu’s mother sounds so delighted, as if she’s grateful that Beomgyu has friends, but he knows her true intentions and feelings that will be voiced later on. It convinces Taehyun, though, and Beomgyu can tell he’s much more relaxed, although still nervous towards his father. 

“Beomgyu-ah, why don’t you show Taehyun your old room and give him a bit of a tour?” His mother smiles sweetly at him. 

Beomgyu nods and takes Taehyun upstairs to his old room. Most of it has been used for storage, however. His room was originally boring and plain anyway, since he didn’t have anything besides the essentials. While others’ rooms were adorned with posters and photos (happy things and what that people enjoyed) Beomgyu had no reason to indulge in such worthless things. 

“It’s just like you.” Taehyun chuckles. “Is this what your apartment is like too?”

“Pretty much. Boring and dull and white.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” Taehyun giggles softly. “It’s a reflection of you and your childhood. But it’s not reflective of the current you. You’re not boring or dull.” 

Beomgyu is about to answer when he hears his mother calling him. 

“She’ll want you to stay up here, so you don’t hear us fighting.” Beomgyu explains. “You can hear us from the top of the stairs, though.” 

“What? I’m not going to eavesdrop or anything.” 

“I’m giving you permission.” 

“That doesn’t matter!” Taehyun blurts out. “Isn’t it really personal?” 

“It’s the same old every time. The offer is there if you want to know how my parents _really_ treat me.” Beomgyu sighs as he walks downstairs. 

Beomgyu walks into the living room and leans against the wall, not venturing further as his father sits in his armchair and his mother sits on the sofa. He just wants to go home already. 

“Have you made any progress, kid?” His father huffs, taking a swig from a new bottle of alcohol. 

“My answer is the same.” Beomgyu sighs, crossing his arms. 

“Beomgyu-ah, you don’t have much time left. You really need to start-”

“Oh fuck off. I’ve been trying all this time and what have _you_ done? I don’t see _you_ helping me out at all.” Beomgyu scoffs, hands clenching tighter. 

“How dare you speak to me like that? We worked hard to raise you and tried when you were a child, but found nothing.” His mother retorts. 

“Honestly, I don’t understand why you even bother caring anymore. You stopped helping me when I was only a teenager, leaving me by myself! It’s _my_ life and _my_ future in danger, so why the fuck should _you_ be so worried?!” Beomgyu spits, seething with anger. 

“You’re right, I couldn’t give a shit about you, but you’re still technically related to me and you’ll be the one to break the curse, no matter what. And then I’ll finally get the recognition I deserve.” Another swig.

“Recognition you deserve?! Ha! Don’t fuck around, Appa. You’ve done _nothing_ to contribute to my breaking the curse, even if I do end up achieving it. In the end, this is all for your selfish gain. You’re just like the fucking humans. But oh wait, I forgot you _are_ one.” 

“You little shit!” 

His father gets up and stomps over to swing his arm at Beomgyu, but the nimble boy simply dodges aside and kicks at his feet, sending his father to the ground. 

“Beomgyu! This is _not_ how I raised you!” His mother scolds, going to help his father up before her hand is slapped away. 

“Oh really? How _did_ you raise me then, Eomma? Hmm? Claiming you loved me and showering me with love, making me believe I could live a happy life, only for it all to be fake once I saw the pity in your eyes? Once I understood your ulterior motives, waiting every single full moon to see if I’d come home as a human or not? You’ve _never_ loved me. You only married Appa out of obligation, and even now, you just want to claim all the glory if I break the curse.” Beomgyu scoffs. 

“Beomgyu… that’s not true.” His mother pleads, falling to her knees and clutching onto his clenched fist as her tone softens. “Please… You know what I’ve had to deal with and put up with for you. The least you could do is let me claim some of it and be happy for the first time in my life since being a human.” 

“You’re both the same, only caring about yourselves. You’re not my parents. Why did I think in my whole entire life, that there was ever a moment where you were?” Beomgyu hisses at them. 

“You ungrateful insolent fool. I raised you when you were only a baby. If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead by now!” His father shouts. 

“You think that matters now? Those five years you spent, still trying and hoping to break the curse were wasted for nothing in the end. Maybe if you’d actually loved me as your son, you’d be free by now.” Beomgyu scoffs, too many memories of his cursed childhood rising to the surface. “And besides… I’m pretty much dead already. Perhaps I’ve been dead inside my whole life.”

Beomgyu fakes his best smile at them, dropping it in a second to glare at them menacingly as he turns and walks out the room. 

“Don’t even think about leaving this house, Choi Beomgyu. We’re not finished talking here!” His father yells. 

“Well, _I’m_ done here. I’m not coming back here again.” Beomgyu laughs bitterly. “Why come back here when there’s no point? Have a good _human_ life.” 

Beomgyu opens the door and jerks his head out the door, signalling Taehyun to scramble down the stairs from where he was sitting on the top step. 

“T-Thank you for having us.” Taehyun bows quickly before Beomgyu drags him out by the arm. 

“B-Beomgyu, wait!”

He slams the door shut and quickly power walks to his car, ignoring the cries from his mother and endless shouts and insults from his father. He feels nothing, though. He never loved them in the first place, did he? That’s why he feels numb, why he doesn’t feel sadness. There was never any love to mourn in the first place.

“Ouch, Beomgyu, it hurts!” 

Beomgyu snaps out of his trance and lets go of Taehyun’s arm, staring in shock as Taehyun rubs his arm better. 

“S-Sorry. Let’s go.” Beomgyu apologises, jumping into the car eagerly. 

As they’re driving, Taehyun notices Beomgyu’s shaking hands and he puts a tender hand over them. 

“Pull over.” 

“Why?” He feels his throat constrict. 

“You’re not okay to drive right now.” Taehyun’s voice is gentle and soft as ever. 

Beomgyu complies and pulls over. He turns to Taehyun to tell him off, or to tell him that he’s fine, but he’s met with the big, round, starry eyes that are so fond towards him. Taehyun holds his arms out and smiles, nodding at him.

“You just wanted them to love you, didn’t you?” 

Beomgyu’s breath hitches and his eyes start to sting and something inside of him overflows. Something compels him to accept the human’s embrace, maybe because his human instinct craves affection and comfort and warmth. It’s the first hug he’s received in so long. 

_‘Have they always felt this warm?’_ He wonders. 

Soon, he can’t control his sobbing and broken cries, and he wets Taehyun’s shoulder while the younger simply holds him and rubs his back comfortingly. His chest aches terribly and his throat feels raw, only allowing him to take sharp intakes of air after he chokes on a sob. Taehyun whispers comforting words to him that he doesn’t necessarily process, because he’s too overwhelmed with his emotions, but he still appreciates nevertheless. 

Beomgyu doesn’t understand what’s happening, if he’s honest. Why is he crying? What are these feelings? Why does his heart ache so badly? He’s never felt this much before. 

It takes him a while to calm down and collect himself, or at least longer than he’d like to admit. He gratefully accepts Taehyun’s water bottle and tissues, blowing his nose and wiping his tears before throwing them into his growing plastic bag full of them. 

“Feeling better now?” Taehyun asks softly, rubbing his thumb over Beomgyu’s hand. 

Beomgyu nods, unsure of what to say. He’s still trying to process his feelings. 

“Thank you.” He settles on saying. 

“It’s okay.” Taehyun smiles. “It seems like that breakdown’s been overdue for years.” 

“What… What do you mean?” Beomgyu asks him with sincere and puffy eyes. 

“I mean that you’ve been emotionally constipated your whole life, so you’ve been repressing these feelings towards your parents.” Taehyun giggles. “Beomgyu, I think you’ve been lonely your whole childhood, feeling neglected by your parents… and that you’ve never faced that truth until now. It’s not that you didn’t love them… but rather that you just wanted them to return it. You wanted them to love you back.” 

Beomgyu pauses to think and reflect on his childhood, always spending time outside of his house, wanting to be anywhere _but_ home. If he could even call it that. His earliest memory is of being carried on his father’s shoulders when he was three, as they walked through the zoo and Beomgyu was high enough to feel like he was flying. He doesn’t necessarily remember anything else, other than that specific sensation, but it’s an act of affection that he might have been repressing this whole time. Even if he doesn’t remember a lot of his time as a three, four, and five-year-old, he remembers how his father had seemed like a superhero in his eyes. His father taught him how to fly, spreading his much larger wings majestically and soaring across the waters gracefully. Beomgyu wanted to be like him. Beomgyu felt admiration. But innocent little five-year-old Beomgyu didn’t know how his life would change once his father turned 20 and realised he hadn’t broken the curse. 

“When I was five…” Beomgyu explains with a shaky breath, deeming that Taehyun deserves an explanation. “My father turned 20. It was coincidentally a full moon. We’d gone to an isolated field somewhere, and I turned into a little crane as usual. But as I waited… my father could not. He couldn’t break the curse, leaving him to be stuck in a human body for the rest of his life. I’d never heard my father scream and cry that much before. 

You see, us cranes pride ourselves on our beauty. Our feathers and elegant legs and red crowns are what make us. Once you lose that, you’re worthless. Being a human is worthless because nothing can compare to the beauty of a crane.”

Beomgyu takes another deep breath. 

“That first night I transformed without my father… was the scariest moment of my life. He’d ignored me the whole day, so I transformed and went to the sedge, but they ignored me too. Pretended like I didn’t exist. I was so used to having my father with me... I was five for goodness’ sake,” He chuckles bitterly. “Of course I needed to depend on my parent. And yet, I’d lost the one who guided me and kept me safe, far too quickly for me to comprehend. I was truly alone, and I _hated_ it. I cried every night I had to transform, because there was no longer anyone to love me, even if it was fake. No one to be there for me. I didn’t understand it. I’d come home and my father would glare at me with his dark eyes, despising my existence. He saw my crane’s beauty that he no longer had, and he _hated_ me. I was _nothing_ to him. Just like that, a switch flipped and I was no longer his biological son. I wondered what I ever did wrong. It’s not like I could control the curse. I tried so hard to please him, until I realised I couldn’t. 

Eventually, he married my mother, who was also a cursed crane from the previous generation and a distant relative. He claimed it would be good for me to grow up in a proper family, even though I was already five, and yet he just wanted an excuse to neglect me. Even my mother didn’t love me. She claimed to, but every time I’d come home after a full moon as a human, I’d see the regret and disappointment in her eyes. All this time, I’ve known… they never wanted me to be free. They just wanted to take the credit for themselves. All they ever think about is themselves, like selfish humans.” 

“Beomgyu, not all humans are selfish like them. It’s because of the circumstances and the curse that they turned into crappy parents.” Taehyun says softly. “You didn’t deserve that childhood, and I’m sorry.”

Beomgyu looks into his beautiful and honest eyes, lit up by every passing car’s headlights, and he believes him. 

“It really is a curse. It’s haunted me my whole life.” Beomgyu laughs bitterly. “And now it’ll only make my life worse.” 

“Hey. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d help you break the curse no matter what.” Taehyun says, caressing his hand. “We still have time. You can’t give up now. Not when you’ve been trying so hard.” 

Beomgyu nods and lets go of Taehyun’s hand, wiping away any stray remnants of tears. The rest of the car ride home is spent in silence, and yet Beomgyu can’t get the image of Taehyun’s eyes and the feeling of his warm hands encasing Beomgyu’s out of his head. 

The next day, Beomgyu feels lighter and more free. Like the weight and pressure that always suffocated him when he thought about or remembered his parents was finally gone. Perhaps there was a part of him that wanted to break the curse to make them happy and proud of him for once in his life. To make them look at him and love him, like Taehyun had pointed out the previous night. 

This time, he’ll follow what he told his parents. It’s _his_ life on the line, and it affects no one else. He has to break the curse for himself. 

He feels something new arise in him. He doesn’t know the name for it, but it’s probably akin to determination. Having a goal. Having a mission, and not just living life as if he’s given up. There’s a new fire within him, telling him that maybe, with Taehyun’s help, he really _can_ do it. He’s not worried about the urgency of eight months, but rather, his newfound resolve is what drives his sudden passion.

When they’re at the summer festival on their last night, Beomgyu gets a funny feeling in his chest whenever Taehyun smiles wide, and especially when he laughs and his pearly whites show. It’s almost contagious. As they’re walking to find a spot for the fireworks, Taehyun notices something, or more accurately, someone. 

It’s a little boy, probably five years old at most, and he’s crying. He seems to be alone, with no adults around him who recognise the boy. He’s lost. 

“Hey there, little one.” Taehyun crouches down, immediately meeting him at eye level. “I’m Taehyun. This is my friend, Beomgyu. What’s your name?” 

“M-Minjun.” The boy says through his tears. 

“Okay, Minjun. Did you come with Eomma and Appa to the festival?” 

“Eomma…” He sniffles. 

“Well, Minjun, we’re here to help you find Eomma! Don’t worry at all!” 

“Hey, wait.” Beomgyu grabs hold of Taehyun’s arm. “Aren’t we going to find a good spot for the fireworks?”

“Fireworks are nothing compared to helping little Minjun find his eomma. I’m sure she’s worried sick.” Taehyun says. “Come on, Minjun. You’ll see Eomma better from above.”

Beomgyu watches as Taehyun carries the boy on his shoulders, effectively making him taller than the crowd, and bounces him happily to ease his crying. Taehyun does it so naturally. Beomgyu was only thinking about themselves, and yet Taehyun’s first instinct is _always_ the care of other people. Something that Beomgyu could never do. Even as they’re walking around, Taehyun makes jokes with him and listens to him talk about dinosaurs and aliens, and he even makes Beomgyu buy the boy ice cream to comfort him. 

“Minjun-ah!” 

“Eomma!!” 

Taehyun spots the lady waving at them, and puts the boy down, allowing him to run into his mother’s arms. The sight of the mother, overjoyed with tears in her eyes, hugging and kissing her son while he sobs in her arms, makes Beomgyu’s heart squeeze with something warm. She isn’t mad that the boy had run off, but instead, her feeling of relief overtakes everything else. It’s a complete contrast to the times when Beomgyu would often run off, only to be scolded and harshly dragged home, leaving bruises on his wrists. He remembers convincing himself that it was because his mother loved him and was worried about him, but all this time, it was only because she didn’t want to suffer the consequences of losing a cursed crane child and to lose her chance of regaining honour. 

“Beomgyu?” Taehyun taps him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

“Sorry, what did you say?” 

“Nothing.” Taehyun chuckles. “I’m glad we could help Minjun find his eomma. I remember crying so badly when I got lost as a child. It’s terrifying.” 

Beomgyu chuckles bitterly, “I wandered away from my parents all the time. They hated it.” 

“You must have been one rebellious child.” Taehyun laughs. 

The fireworks suddenly pop in the sky above them, making Beomgyu jump temporarily, much to Taehyun’s amusement. Everyone stops in their tracks to watch them, and it’s as if time has stopped, except for the fireworks. Beomgyu’s seen fireworks before in his life. He watched them on the television, since their neighbourhood wasn’t allowed fireworks and his parents never thought it was important enough to go and see in person. He’s seen them, just never in person. There’s something different, with each blast thrumming throughout his body and with the subtle high-pitched ringing of the fireworks before they burst into sparkles and colours and pop, eventually fizzling into the next one. He stares in awe, but then remembers there’s someone beside him and he turns his head. And suddenly, it’s much more fascinating to watch the sparkly fireworks reflected in Taehyun’s eyes. His face is lit up in awe, a wide smile plastered from ear to ear. He turns his head, causing Beomgyu to look away quickly, his cheeks warming up. 

“D-Do you want to visit the ferris wheel now? It shouldn’t be too packed by the time we get there.” Beomgyu says shyly. 

Taehyun nods, unaware of how Beomgyu feels the fluttering feeling again. Beomgyu convinces himself it was just because of the fireworks, and nothing else. 

The ferris wheel is fairly new, having only been finished the previous year. Beomgyu suggested it would be a good way to see more of Daegu, or at least as much as the naked eye would allow. It isn’t anything fancy, allowing people to mainly see more of the city and buildings in the area in a new perspective, but it’s still a new experience. 

They climb on the ferris wheel in a carriage of their own, and wait as it slowly moves up, stops, and then moves up again. 

“Wow! It’s really amazing to see it at night from up so high!” Taehyun exclaims excitedly. 

“Yeah, it’s nice, I guess.” Beomgyu laughs dryly.

“You’re just saying that because you can fly.” Taehyun pouts. 

“It’s true. It’s nicer from high above, and when you can feel the wind and ride the air currents.” 

“It sounds amazing. If I were you, I’d probably spend my time exploring the world.” Taehyun smiles, hand on the glass as he gazes out at the world. 

“Why?” 

“There’s so much to explore, don’t you think? With air travel, there’s only so much we can see and do. Even then, we’re stuck on the ground once we get to a place. If you can fly yourself, you could do that for free _and_ see more of the world.” 

Taehyun’s eyes sparkle again, this time reflecting the lights of the city and buildings ever so slowly. There’s something about Taehyun’s eyes, full of wonder and reflecting the world, that draws Beomgyu in, sucking him in like a black hole he can’t escape. His eyes that hold so much awe and wonder that Beomgyu has never understood before in his life. 

He looks out again at the vast city, at the lights that flicker, the cars that move in the distance, and the people he can’t even see, and he feels… small. Flying as a crane, he’s seen these views before—seen the world from overhead—and yet he always only enjoyed how it made him feel. How he enjoyed the wind and the sensation of letting himself glide, rather than focusing on the world. 

“I’ve never thought about it like that before.” He admits. 

“The world is huge.” Taehyun chuckles, placing a hand on the glass. “We’re very small beings in a world that’s waiting for us to discover every corner.” 

Beomgyu wonders if he’d ever come to this realisation as a crane. Even when he was with his sedge, they’d teach him about how cruel humans were, and how the only ones they could trust were themselves. How they were superior to nature, and how they were smarter than the predators above them in the food chain. 

He blinks his eyes a few times, as if his vision has expanded, and he starts looking at the world differently. He was raised with such a self-centred view that he’d never stopped to look at the world for itself. 

“Thank you.” Beomgyu says softly, looking down and playing with his fingers nervously. 

“For what?” 

“I don’t know… a lot of things. For coming with me. For letting me cry and rant about my parents and helping me realise just how crappy they were.” Beomgyu looks into his beautiful eyes. “And for tonight. For letting me see the world… for real.” 

“You did those yourself.” Taehyun smiles, taking his hand again and brushing a thumb over it. “You made those realisations yourself, and I just helped you along the way. The world and humans aren’t as bad as your parents and the other cranes made us out to be.” 

“Okay.” 

It’s a gentle whisper—a promise, that he’ll change his perspective and his attitude. Or at least… he’ll try.


	5. v

They return to their second semester during September, and things fall back into a regular pace again. Beomgyu works at the café with a new schedule, and the group still meet on Wednesdays, although Taehyun frequents the café basically every day. 

It’s during his Wednesday shift when Taehyun enters, his smile wide and bright as usual. These days, he leaves his bag at his usual table, and then sits behind the counter on a stool (with permission from the manager) so that he can chat with Beomgyu while the elder is making his order. 

“What’s up?” He asks. 

“What do you mean? I’m making your usual.” Beomgyu raises his eyebrow, confused. 

“You’re sighing. What’s stressing you out, halfway through the semester?” 

Beomgyu would be surprised at how well Taehyun has him figured out if it weren’t for the fact that they basically hang out with each other every day, otherwise messaging daily. Taehyun’s gotten better at reading him, and in some ways, it scares Beomgyu to be so vulnerable and exposed—much less concealed and hidden as when they’d first met—but in other ways, it’s more comforting that he can talk to Taehyun about what’s on his mind without being judged. 

Beomgyu sighs, giving in, “I got asked to perform. At next year’s orientation concert. They wanna finalise the performers before the semester gets busy.” 

“So? That’s great news! Everyone can hear you playing music!” Taehyun says cheerfully. 

“I… I’m not sure yet.” 

They’ve talked in the past about Beomgyu’s music. Taehyun’s never been allowed to hear anything because Beomgyu is still very private about his compositions and music, but they’ve still discussed it. For Beomgyu, music is his personal escape, and one of the only good things about living as a human. His music helps him express his emotions in a way different to describing things normally through words. Words and deep conversations are far too straightforward for Beomgyu. Music and the organising of notes and chords and crafting of lyrics are much more beautiful to Beomgyu. Music is his only passion, but it’s also sort of like his best friend that he can be deep and personal with (aside from Taehyun). He feeds his guitar with the chords, and it produces the music and melodies that touch his heart. 

Whenever they’d had performances for his subjects, he’d always get away with performing solo in front of the teacher in private. Although, there _were_ a few group compositions and performances that he had to suffer through. Beomgyu isn’t sure if he’s ready for his music to be released into the world and into the public, where it can be torn apart and criticised and judged. He’d never cared for how other people saw him (humans aren’t worth his time after all) but why have things changed? Why is he so worried about it?

“Beomgyu-hyung, your music is beautiful. It’s personal and raw and it’s you. I get that you’re not sure about showing yourself, but everyone deserves to hear your music. You deserve to get some recognition, especially in your third year of university.” Taehyun says comfortingly. 

“You haven’t even heard my music, idiot.” Beomgyu chuckles, finishing off the coffee art on his caramel macchiato and passing it to him. 

“I don’t have to hear your music to know it’s good.” Taehyun smiles, taking a picture of the coffee art before taking a sip. 

“That’s stupid. Of course you do. How would you know I’m not just making some piece of crap that’s off-key?” Beomgyu scoffs. 

“Well for starters, your professors give you high praise. You always tell me about their feedback and complain about how vague it is sometimes.” Taehyun laughs, while Beomgyu just pouts at him. “Secondly, you wouldn’t get a solo performance at the school’s famous orientation concert if you weren’t good. And thirdly, any music is good, as long as you’re honest with yourself and trying your best. I’ve studied with you, and I see how much you love it. You can’t be _that_ bad if you’ve stuck with it for so long, let alone gotten the grades you have.” 

Beomgyu’s cheeks warm up again at the unexpected flurry of compliments. They make him feel validated and proud, in a good way. 

“And besides, who knows. Maybe it’ll help break your curse? Something about accepting yourself?” Taehyun thinks hard, surely going through the list of things they’ve already discussed and tried. 

Beomgyu sighs.

“Okay. Sure. But if I end up regretting it, it’s on you.” 

Taehyun giggles softly, “It’s music. You can’t regret music. Everything is part of the learning process, isn’t it?” 

“Now you’re just reciting what you learnt from COMP140.” Beomgyu groans. 

“Wow, I’m surprised you remembered.” Taehyun jokes, earning a playful hit from Beomgyu.

“Drink your stupid coffee and stop taking photos of every single one!” Beomgyu argues. 

“I’m taking a photo of your progress! So I can compare it to when you finally perfect your coffee art.” Taehyun giggles, eyes turning into crescents and his dimple popping out. 

Beomgyu blushes, embarrassed, and returns to cleaning the machine, trying to get the image of Taehyun’s contagious smile out of his head. 

It doesn’t work. 

A few weeks later (and three-quarters through the semester), Beomgyu is on his lunch break with Yeonjun at the same time, since the café is quite dead. The two sit at a table in the corner, eating freshly toasted sandwiches from the chef and only talking once they’ve finished. 

“Okay, so I haven’t asked Soobin about this yet, but I figured I could get two opinions, so hear me out.” Yeonjun starts. “I’m thinking of confessing to Kai.” 

“Wow, finally?” Beomgyu jokes, although Yeonjun keeps a straight face.

“Yeah, finally. I… This whole crush has gone on for too long, and I don’t think I can keep it in for much longer. I mean, did you see when he got chocolate all over his face the other day and he-”

“Yes, yes, I saw. You had the ‘love heart eyes’ or whatever Soobin-hyung calls them.” Beomgyu sighs. “So what’s the problem?”

“Wait, you’re actually interested? Usually, you’d just brush it off and say you’re not interested.” 

“Well, I’m not interested… but I’ll listen to you.” 

“Hmmm… smells fishy. Must be Taehyun’s influence.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beomgyu pouts. 

“Anyway, I need advice on how I should do it. And when. I don’t think the end of semester is a good time to start a relationship, so maybe during the holidays?” Yeonjun says, clearly having thought through it already. 

“Start a relationship?” Beomgyu asks curiously. 

“Yeah. That’s kind of what confessing is. You tell the person how much you love them, and if they return your feelings and say they love you back, you’d normally get into a relationship.” Yeonjun would normally find it weird that someone doesn’t know about these kinds of things, but since it’s Beomgyu, he excuses it. 

“But you clearly love Kai and Kai loves you. You’re childhood friends, aren’t you? Why aren’t you already in a relationship then?”

“Man, you really are hopeless when it comes to romance.” Yeonjun mutters under his breath, “No wonder Taehyun hasn’t confessed to you yet.”

“What did you say at the end?” Beomgyu looks at him confused.

“Nothing important.” Yeonjun chuckles nervously. “It’s a different kind of love. Yeah, we’ve been friends for most of our lives, but that kind of love is platonic. It’s like a ‘just friends’ kind of love. But as we grew up, and Kai matured, I began to see him differently. I don’t love him like a little brother or friend, but I love him in the way that I want to be boyfriends with him.” 

“Boyfriends, huh? And that’s what being in a relationship would mean?” 

“Yeah. You know, you start out as boyfriends and then you know… you get married when you’re older.” Yeonjun blushes. 

Beomgyu nods. He’s studied about human traditions like marriage, and even had to experience his parents’ marriage. (Although there was never a ceremony, just some papers signed while he played with his one teddy bear.) He’s just never heard about the ‘before’. Weren’t all marriages settled by meeting a stranger and asking them to marry so they could look after a child? 

“How do you know?” Beomgyu swallows, seeking the answers to the question he’s been pondering for the past few months. “How do you know that you love someone?”

“Wow, you’ve _really_ changed.” Yeonjun chuckles. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it. Hmmm… I’d say it’s different for everyone. Everyone loves in different ways, and wants different things from their partners. For me, I knew I was in love with Kai when I realised that I wanted him to be happy no matter what. I’ve always loved his laugh and his smile, but it was only when I was 18 and he was 16, when something really terrible happened and he lost his smile, that I realised I needed to protect his smile. I’d seen so many relationships at school, and I found myself wishing that I could be his strength, and that I could be the reason he smiles every day. He’s literally like the sun. I’d do anything for him, just so that he could shine brightly, whether he’s with me or not.”

Beomgyu listens attentively, genuinely fascinated by Yeonjun’s words. 

“Yes, I also want to cuddle with him and keep him warm and kiss him, but above all, I want to be there for him. I want to be the first person he goes to when he’s worried or scared, or even when he’s happy. It’s kind of like… I can’t imagine my life without him. Without his kaleidoscope of colours. It wouldn’t be a very exciting or fun life.” Yeonjun gives a small smile, thinking of just how much Kai means to him. 

Beomgyu has never seen such a fond smile on Yeonjun’s face before, or perhaps he has, but he’s never realised that Kai was the subject of his fondness. He wonders if Kai looks back with the same fondness, and they just haven’t matched their glances or have denied it for the past few years. Probably the latter. 

“Should I ask why you’re suddenly asking about love?” 

“Definitely not. I was just curious.” Beomgyu stands up abruptly, leaving to man the counter even though there aren’t any customers. 

“Sure.” Yeonjun laughs knowingly. 

And yet, when Beomgyu returns to the counter to busy himself wiping everything down mindlessly, Taehyun comes to haunt his mind. He considers practising his coffee art, which Taehyun had requested of him early in the semester. He’d never felt the need to learn it, but Taehyun proposed a challenge, and he was going to succeed and prove that he could do it. He still remembers his first time trying, when he ended up drizzling the caramel sauce in some weird pattern, and Taehyun burst into laughter while Beomgyu pouted, embarrassed. Taehyun happily took a picture and smiled wide and bright at Beomgyu and said, “Better luck next time, hyung.” 

If he’s honest, Taehyun’s been stuck on Beomgyu’s mind every now and then for the past few days (or maybe it’s been since last week?), his cute dimple popping up out of nowhere, and the sound of his hardest laugh heard in his mind, like his favourite music. Beomgyu feels his heart squeeze, and the sudden desire to see Taehyun. 

_‘What is this?’_

* * *

Taehyun is in deep trouble. He’s done what he convinced himself he would never do. 

Taehyun has fallen in love with Choi Beomgyu. 

Back in July, after he’d found out about Beomgyu’s true identity, he convinced himself that he’d move on from his love for the crane, and that Beomgyu’s cold personality would throw him off. He could never expect it would do the complete opposite. 

Taehyun thinks it’s precisely because he’s gotten close to the crane and because they’ve spent so much time together that he has come to this realisation. Taehyun firmly believes that even if he didn’t go to Daegu with him, he still might have fallen for him, just later on. But it was specifically during their time in Daegu when Taehyun finally came to terms with it. 

Seeing Beomgyu and his emotions in all their wonderful colours opened Taehyun’s eyes and made him realise that he wanted to discover and explore more about Beomgyu, no longer because he wanted to break the curse, but because he wanted to be more than friends with Beomgyu. He wanted to be someone special to Beomgyu. 

Once Taehyun made the realisation, it changed everything. He was shy about even the brush of their hands whenever he was handed his coffee, and each interaction made him pay attention to everything but Beomgyu’s words. It was no longer about listening to him, but more about being distracted by his pretty lips and sharp jawline and his eyes, beautiful as ever. He tries to push down his feelings so they don’t show too obviously, but Kai says he’s as obvious as ever; Beomgyu is just dense. 

Every time he and Beomgyu think of ways to break the curse, or research about it, Taehyun feels the guilt grow in his heart where he selfishly thinks, _‘What if he stayed human forever and we didn’t break the curse? Would he want to be with me?’_ however he’s learnt to shoot down those thoughts straight away. His job is solely to help Beomgyu break the curse, so that he can be free and happy. After all, he wouldn’t be free and happy as a human, let alone if he was with Taehyun. As much as Taehyun is trying his hardest to prove to Beomgyu that humans aren’t all that bad, he knows that the elder would prefer his freedom over everything else. 

Taehyun knows he’s a lost cause, and that it’s pointless loving Beomgyu, because the crane can never love him back, but that’s not what love is about, is it? Being with Beomgyu has also meant that Taehyun has realised that he doesn’t love Beomgyu because he wants the other to love him back. He loves Beomgyu because of who he is—a lonely crane learning about the world who loves in quiet ways even though he doesn’t realise it—and because his genuine emotions are beautiful. Taehyun just wants him to experience the world and his human life genuinely, never having to fake anything or force himself. 

Taehyun wants Beomgyu to feel like he belongs. He’s spent his whole life, growing up alone, rejected by the cranes that are supposed to be his family and out of place in the world of humans that he’s reluctantly subjected to. Beomgyu had once lamented that he didn’t belong anywhere. Hence why he tried to learn as much as he could about humans and how to act like them, so that he could pretend to fit in. 

“It was a false solution.” Beomgyu concluded. “I guess in the end, I don’t really belong anywhere.” 

Taehyun wished he had the right to say that Beomgyu belonged with him, but he didn’t. As he uttered the next words, his heart squeezed in slight pain.

“Once we break the curse, you’ll be accepted again. And if no one accepts you, remember you’ll always have me.” Taehyun smiled. 

And it’s true. Taehyun made the resolve to support and be there for Beomgyu no matter what, even if it hurt himself. Even if it hurt to wish and long for a future with him that was impossible from the start. 

He’s aware. He’s well aware of the fact that he needs to stop and he needs to move on quickly, before Beomgyu turns into a crane and breaks his heart into even smaller pieces. But spending almost every day with him and trying to break the curse does not help at all. It doesn’t stop his heart from beating faster and skipping beats whenever they make contact. His chest can’t stop squeezing and his stomach does nervous flips all the time. Taehyun’s emotions are well-hidden, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t affecting his every thought and action. 

Taehyun is in deep trouble. The reason being the upcoming winter holidays. 

Yeonjun and Kai are returning home once more, this time for two weeks, and Soobin is also returning to his hometown. This time, Beomgyu has no reason to go back to Daegu, so he’s staying on campus for the whole holiday period. 

_‘Great. Only more opportunities to be alone with him and have to shove down my feelings.’_ Taehyun groans. 

**_1 New Message_ **

**beomgyu**

> hey, what are you doing? 

**taehyun**

not much, why? <

**beomgyu**

> take me to an arcade

**taehyun**

an arcade? why so suddenly? <

**beomgyu**

> i’ve never been to one. never had anyone to go with. 

**taehyun**

fair. meet you at your place in ten? <

**beomgyu**

> i’ll pick you up

**taehyun**

see you soon then. <

Beomgyu drives them to an arcade he’d searched up that’s a fifteen minute drive from Taehyun’s place. Beomgyu recalls how there was a popular arcade in his neighbourhood that lots of students frequented, but he’d been too awkward to tag along, and he never saw the appeal of it. Taehyun vaguely wonders why he’s suddenly interested now, but doesn’t speak up about it. 

Taehyun expects him to suck at the games, but to his surprise, Beomgyu is the complete opposite. He picks up the games easily and has a natural talent for games. Even with the basketball shooting game, Taehyun was sure he’d win for certain, being more sporty and active, however Beomgyu surprises him and wins by three goals. 

Whenever Beomgyu wins, he has this specific triumphant smile painted on his face, dazzling brightly and laughing uncontrollably. It’s terribly contagious and it only grows the blossoming love in Taehyun’s heart even more. Taehyun has stored so many of Beomgyu’s smiles and laughs into his memory, whether consciously or not, saved for later when he’s up late at night unable to sleep, or when he’s wallowing in self-pity for loving someone he can’t have. 

But if there’s one thing he’s sure about, it’s that he will never regret falling for Choi Beomgyu. Loving Beomgyu and admiring every little thing about him has in a way changed Taehyun for the better. While he didn’t care much for other people or appreciate his life, Beomgyu has taught him how important it is to. Despite the pain, loving Choi Beomgyu is part of him. Beomgyu makes him happy, and he can only hope that he does the same for the other. 

It’s hard to not be selfish and to stop the mindset that if he helps Beomgyu break the curse, he’ll finally be loved back. In a way, that’s why loving Beomgyu is like a toxic poison to Taehyun. It gives him ugly selfish thoughts that he can’t help but think and hope for. Hoping that Beomgyu will stay a human, or having the ulterior motive that Beomgyu will love him for breaking his curse; they’re all disgusting thoughts. 

_‘Remember Taehyun, this is all for Beomgyu’s happiness, not yours.’_ He tells himself, like a mantra. _‘Beomgyu’s happiness and freedom. You’re not part of that.’_

The week before Christmas, they visit the library to research more about the curse and any potential solutions. The library is one of Taehyun’s favourite places, being so large and abundant with resources, as well as sections for all genres and ages, and a wide range of selections. 

“Hey look, hyung, there’s an origami station.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You can make an origami crane! They’re always the first thing anyone learns.” 

This piques Beomgyu’s interest, seen in his raised eyebrow. Taehyun, who has obviously learnt origami before, makes the crane with ease, whereas Beomgyu has trouble following the instructions. 

“What the hell is this step?” He groans. 

“Watch your language, hyung, this is the kids section.” Taehyun chuckles. “Ah, that one. You have to open the pocket like this and squash it down.” 

Taehyun demonstrates it for him and can’t help but chuckle when Beomgyu stares at the thing in awe. 

“Taehyun-ah, it turned from a triangle into a square!” 

“You’re such a kid.” Taehyun giggles. 

“Am not.” Beomgyu pouts, concentrating hard on the paper. 

Beomgyu (somewhat) finishes his origami crane, and Taehyun bursts into laughter as Beomgyu blushes, embarrassed. It’s clumsy and the proportions are all wrong, but Taehyun thinks it’s the most endearing thing ever, although that doesn’t get communicated across. 

“Stop laughing! It’s my first time!” Beomgyu pouts, hitting him playfully. 

“Sorry, I’m not teasing you.” Taehyun giggles, recovering from his laughter. “It’s cute.” 

“It doesn’t even look like a crane, anyway.” Beomgyu frowns, holding up Taehyun’s perfectly folded one. “It’s just a generic bird. Where are the legs? The elegant wings?” 

“Don’t take too much offence.” Taehyun chuckles. “It’s just how they designed it. It’s meant to be easy to make.” 

“Well, it should be called an origami bird. It doesn’t capture our beauty.” 

“You’re right, it doesn’t.” Taehyun stares at Beomgyu fondly without even realising it until the other looks away abruptly. 

“A-Anyway, we should really research. That’s what we came here for, right?” Beomgyu stutters, looking down nervously. 

Taehyun nods and they move to the section where they find books about curses and other occult books. They’d already searched the internet for how fictional curses are broken, and only came out with vague answers like “sacrificing something” or the obvious “doing something different to their ancestor”. Other sources said that they had to do the opposite of why the curse was placed, but obviously Beomgyu doesn’t have access to his ancestor’s thoughts, and the closest thing he knows is that it was because he potentially killed the princess, or because he was jealous. 

“Maybe you have to save a life.” Taehyun joked once. 

“That’s so hard. What am I gonna do, throw a kid in the water to drown before saving them?”

“I’m just saying, keep your mind open.” 

Taehyun walks alongside the books slowly, finger dragging across each spine as he reads the titles sideways. Every now and then, there’s a common gap in the shelves and he locks eyes with Beomgyu on the other side. They both look away quickly, cheeks dusted pink unbeknownst to each other. His finger reaches the end of the shelf just as Beomgyu’s does, and they meet, looking up at the same time. 

God, looking at Choi Beomgyu should be illegal. The soft sunbeams streaming through the window light up his face and his honey skin perfectly, leaving Taehyun breathless. His fluffy hair compliments his facial features, and Taehyun finds himself getting lost in his deep brown eyes again. The way his eyes sparkle in the sunlight almost rival the way they reflect the stars at night. It makes him wonder what other secrets and hidden pain his eyes hold. 

Beomgyu steps forward and reaches out a hand to cup Taehyun’s cheek and he forgets how to breathe, both of them paused in time. He genuinely can’t tell whether it’s Beomgyu’s hand or his cheek that is heating his face up and overwhelming his thoughts. Beomgyu’s hand rests perfectly against his cheek and he feels the selfish hope in his heart rise up. He waits, unable to move or think, not breathing for fear of changing something, doing something wrong. 

He waits, anxiety eating at him, but soon, he doesn’t even realise that Beomgyu has dropped his hand until he breaks eye contact with Taehyun. His cheeks still feel incredibly warm, the lingering touch of Beomgyu’s soft hand remaining, as if haunting him. 

“Sorry.” Beomgyu says softly. “We should probably go. I’ll drop you off.” 

But Taehyun remains grounded, unable to process the fleeting moment, still stuck in the dream-like space. His head pounds and his chest hurts, constricting him and robbing him of the ability to think. His stomach drops and he can’t hear anything except his heartbeat. 

Why did he even bother to hope in the first place? Why did he let that little beam of light into his heart, only to be shut down by Beomgyu’s actions, leaving his heart pitch black again? 

Why did he ever think he had a chance? 

He looked into Beomgyu’s eyes, and he thought there was something there… but perhaps it was all an illusion. He wants to hate Beomgyu for giving him even a hint of hope, but in the end, it’s all Taehyun’s fault. He wasn’t supposed to fall for Beomgyu. He’s only bringing this upon himself. 

“Taehyun?” 

Taehyun snaps out of his trance and shakes his head to get rid of his thoughts. He nods and follows Beomgyu out of the library, and into his car, where they don’t say another word to each other the whole car ride. 

Honestly speaking, Taehyun wants to ask him. He really does. He wants to ask Beomgyu what compelled him to act like that… and what he was thinking. But the mood is thick with awkwardness and Taehyun wonders if he’ll ever have the chance to ask about it. There’s an anxiety that clogs his throat, preventing him from speaking up and breaking the silence. 

There’s no point, he convinces himself. Is he ready to be rejected so early on? He definitely doesn’t want it to affect their relationship, especially when they’ve only got less than four months to break this curse. 

He doesn’t say anything, and he only lets the poison and suffering grow larger in his heart. As he lies awake in bed that night, his mind feeds him what he perceives as the undeniable truth.

_‘He doesn’t care about you. He only tolerates you. You’re just the person helping him break the curse. He can’t have feelings for you. Stop hoping and give up.’_

“But I can’t.” Taehyun whispers into the dead of night. “I’ve been trying. But in the end, all I see is his stupid smile.” 

He lets the brokenness of his heart settle in his body, forcing the gentle and soft sobs out of him.


	6. vi

Beomgyu is confused. He’s been overthinking so much that he thinks his brain will literally rot and that his hair might start falling out from how many times he grips it in annoyance. 

He wishes he could pass it off as being stressed from the pressure of running out of time for his curse, but alas, instead of worrying about his curse, he’s more worried about one Kang Taehyun. 

It’s been eating at him silently ever since he’d been spending more time with Taehyun alone during the holidays, but today there’s another issue that has arisen. It all started when Kai walked into the café, immediately hugging Yeonjun and kissing him shamelessly (who knew he could be the more confident one?) much to Yeonjun’s distress.

“Kai-ah, you seriously have to stop doing that!” Yeonjun blushed, hitting him lightly. 

“Ah, but Juni-hyung, your cute flushed face is always worth it.” Kai teased. “Hi Beomgyu-hyung!” 

“Hi. You’re cheerful as always.” 

“Sure am! Guess who just found out someone’s birthday is coming up?” Kai giggled at their blank and confused faces. “Taehyunnie! It’s his birthday on the 5th of February! We should totally plan a surprise party and everything!” 

_‘Birthday, huh?’_

Beomgyu thinks birthdays are stupid. Nothing changes when the clock hits 12 and suddenly, you can say you’re a year older than a few seconds ago. Besides, the likelihood of someone being born at exactly midnight is miniscule. 

Birthdays are a day once a year to celebrate when someone grows older, and when people get presents and the whole day is dedicated to appreciating them, but shouldn’t the person be appreciated every day? Why is there a need for one specific day that only happens once a year? 

_‘Human traditions.’_ Beomgyu scoffed in his head. 

And yes, perhaps Beomgyu is influenced by the fact that he’d only ever gotten one present his whole life (a guitar for his tenth birthday) and the fact that every birthday has been another reminder that he has one less year to break the curse, but he still thinks it’s stupid. 

That’s exactly what he said next, and Kai countered with “Why? Birthdays are so much fun!”, leaving Yeonjun to helpfully answer with: “Beomgyu doesn’t believe in birthdays.” 

“But it’s Taehyunnie’s first birthday with us! It’s special!” Kai pointed out. “We should all get him presents to show how much we love him!” 

Beomgyu went back to making Kai’s order, trying to ignore the way his heart skipped at the word “love”. 

Which leads to Beomgyu’s current predicament. He was already struggling with whatever he feels for Taehyun, and now he’s stuck stressing about a birthday present that he never cared about for anyone else. 

Beomgyu has prided himself on the fact that he’s _amazing_ at acting like a human, getting people to like him when he only despises them, but that all changed ever since Taehyun came into his life. Taehyun saw through his fake smiles almost immediately, and it scared Beomgyu at first, feeling so exposed. When he reflects on his moments spent with Taehyun, he wonders if he’s still just acting or if there’s something natural about his actions and words. Has he gotten so good at acting that it comes naturally to him? He shouldn’t even be considering that, right? He’s supposed to hate humans, like his parents taught him, and yet why doesn’t he hate Taehyun? 

He supposes though, ever since he and Taehyun went to Daegu, he’s been taught to see the world differently. Taehyun said he would convince Beomgyu that not all humans are bad, and he wonders if Taehyun has accomplished his goal already. There’s just no way that he can look at his four friends and say that he outright hates them. 

So maybe he’s not acting as much anymore, and maybe Taehyun has helped him to become comfortable and more natural with his emotions, but what does he feel towards Taehyun then? All the warm cheeks and flutters of his chest and daydreaming of Taehyun are… just weird reactions, right? 

(Although he doesn’t ask himself why he only feels them for Taehyun and not the others.)

He remembers Yeonjun’s words, of how love for him is like wanting that person to be happy and to smile, and for Yeonjun to be Kai’s strength and the person by his side. But Beomgyu doesn’t feel that towards Taehyun. He doesn’t know what he feels, but it isn’t love… right? 

_‘You can’t love Taehyun. It isn’t right. You shouldn’t be able to love at all. Taehyun… he’s just helping you with the curse. You would just be bothering him with these mixed feelings. If you really do turn back into a crane for good, you’d only be leaving him. A crane can’t love a human. Your ancestor was stupid enough to do so and to inflict this whole curse in the first place.’_ Beomgyu’s mind feeds him. _‘Focus, Beomgyu. Your only mission is to break the curse so you can finally be free. Stop thinking so much about Taehyun.’_

Whatever the feelings are, they’re unnecessary and should be put out immediately, right? 

_‘One birthday present. That’s it. And then I’ll act cold again. Maybe I’ll forget whatever all this is. I’ll cut myself off, for his sake_ and _for mine.’_

Beomgyu promised himself one birthday with Taehyun before he turned cold again, but the moment he saw Taehyun’s wide smile and felt his strong hug as a result of being overexcited, he knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. 

He’d worried about the present for so long, unsure of what to get him. The other three had managed to get something, with one week to go, but Beomgyu was still clueless. 

“Hyung, you’re worrying so hard about this. It must be because you’re planning on confessing, right?” Kai blurted out quite bluntly, causing Beomgyu to almost choke on his drink. 

“W-What?! Confessing? I don’t even-”

“Oh, don’t even _try_ to fool us, Choi Beomgyu.” Yeonjun smirked. “We all know the way you look at him. Remember that time he dropped the coffee cup he was cleaning because Taehyun came to the café in a crop top?” 

“Stop bringing that up already!” Beomgyu’s ears turned red with embarrassment. 

Even Beomgyu didn’t know why he reacted that way. All he remembered was that he forgot to breathe for a solid five seconds before dropping the cup. 

“Look Beomgyu, the point is, you’re in love with Taehyun and you know it. Honestly, what did you expect from spending so much time with him? I thought you two were dating already when you came back from Daegu in the summer.” Soobin laughed. 

“I would’ve hit Beomgyu for beating me to it first though, with his… what, four-month-old crush? Compared to my three-year-old crush? No way I would’ve let him get away with it.” Yeonjun pouted. 

“Babe, it’s fine. You beat them already.” Kai chuckled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Gross, I’m going to be surrounded by _two_ couples. Love being a fifth-wheel.” Soobin said sarcastically. 

“Shut up already! I _don’t_ like Taehyun and no one’s confessing!” Beomgyu groaned. 

“Sure. Hey hyungs, do you wanna bet how long it takes them to get together?” Kai giggled, quickly getting out of his chair to run away from Beomgyu chasing him around the café. 

His friends really weren’t any help after all. And so, Beomgyu just went with what he knew, and got Taehyun multiple presents. The more the merrier, right? 

They hold a surprise birthday party at Kai and Taehyun’s place (with Beomgyu distracting him, although Taehyun already had an inkling) and for once, Beomgyu doesn’t mind the party. He enjoys it. The last one they had was for Yeonjun (since Soobin was at home for his birthday), and at that time, Beomgyu was still unsure about how to feel towards humans and his ‘friends’. He tries to convince himself that it’s because he’s learnt how to somewhat love them, and not because it’s Taehyun’s birthday specifically. 

They present their gifts one by one, Taehyun opening them as soon as he gets them. Yeonjun gets him a skateboard, Kai gets him a pet snake (he’d been talking about one for months), and Soobin gets him a recording microphone since Taehyun had complained about only being able to record at the university’s studios. 

It finally gets to Beomgyu’s turn, and he’s absolutely terrified. He’s never felt this nervous before, not even before a performance or before talking to his classmates. He doesn’t even understand why. Perhaps it’s because he had already witnessed Taehyun’s previous reactions (ones of pure joy and overflowing thankfulness) and he knows his presents are nothing compared to the others. He instantly regrets buying much smaller and less valuable or less meaningful presents, and he wants to run away. 

“Your turn, hyung.” Taehyun smiles shyly at him. 

He could run. He could throw the presents out the window. What a shame that’d be. 

“Uhhh, I just have to check them first, I’m not sure if I got rid of the price tag-” He rambles. 

“Hyung, it’s fine.” Taehyun says, gripping Beomgyu’s wrist to keep him from running away. 

Beomgyu nods, cheeks feeling warmer already as he passes the poorly wrapped and weirdly shaped present to Taehyun. The birthday boy giggles at it and immediately unwraps it excitedly. 

Inside are a secondhand walkman (with a cassette of Beomgyu’s personal favourites, recorded at the shop for him), an autobiography from one of Taehyun’s favourite singers, and finally, a bracelet with a small crane feather as the centrepiece. 

Taehyun is literally speechless and Beomgyu takes that as his signal to get up and leave, until Taehyun keeps him grounded by the wrist again. Taehyun looks at him with his big, starry eyes, and Beomgyu loses the game with himself, giving into the deep desires of his heart. 

“Thank you… Beomgyu-hyung.” He smiles with the fondest look he has ever given Beomgyu (although Beomgyu himself doesn’t know what a “fond look” is) and rubs his wrist comfortingly. “It’s the best. _They’re_ the best.” 

Beomgyu has the sudden urge to cup his cheek again, or hold his hand properly, and he scolds himself, telling himself it’s not right to. There’s that fluttering feeling again because god, Taehyun looks beautiful (although Beomgyu would never admit it). His smile shines radiantly, even though it’s dark outside, and Beomgyu smiles back, taking in his contagious happiness. He lets out a yelp as he’s tackled in a hug from Taehyun as a result of his overexcitement. 

“Put it on for me?” Taehyun holds out the bracelet. 

The bracelet was the hardest to find, especially one with a crane feather. Beomgyu’s was special, of course, because it was _his_ feather, but it was difficult to find a real one, let alone one that was part of a bracelet. 

Beomgyu takes the bracelet with slightly nervous fingers and secures it around Taehyun’s pretty wrist, already feeling embarrassed about it. The gift itself is like a sign of the secret between them that no one would understand. That’s what Beomgyu likes about it. It’s something special to both of them. 

He shares a knowing glance with Taehyun and the two giggle softly. Taehyun admires the bracelet up close and smiles wide again, just like every other smile that Beomgyu can’t seem to stop thinking about. 

Well, there goes that plan about turning cold towards Taehyun again. How could he ever try and act cold and forget such a sweet soul, too pure for this world? 

Beomgyu doesn’t realise it, but deep down inside, he’s not ready to let go of Taehyun yet. 

He doesn’t understand it. Why does he like seeing Taehyun’s smile so much? Is this what normal humans feel towards their friends? 

Beomgyu is confused. He still doesn’t understand what he feels towards Taehyun, but all he knows is that it’s wrong. A crane shouldn’t be feeling these things, especially if he wants to break the curse. 

Maybe _this_ is what’s stopping him. Maybe his feelings for Taehyun are what’s keeping him from breaking the curse, this whole time. 

Maybe his ancestor was wrong, because he loved first, when in fact, he should have never even tried in the first place. Because a romantic relationship between a crane and a human should never occur, or even be possible. 

It’s wrong. 

_‘Time to kill these feelings, then. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?’_

* * *

They have about a month left and Taehyun is stressed. He’s glad university hasn’t started back up yet, but they have two weeks of university before Beomgyu’s birthday, so they really need to get cracking before things get busy. 

Taehyun is worried, though. For the past week, ever since his birthday, Beomgyu has been ignoring him. Every time he asks Beomgyu if he wants to hang out or go to the library or anything else, he always declines. “I have to work on my song.” “I’m not feeling up to it.” “Maybe another day.” 

Even when Taehyun visits him at the café, the boy finds ways to busy himself, and he speaks minimal words to Taehyun. It reminds him of the early days of their ‘acquaintance’ status, and he absolutely hates it. Did he do something wrong? Did Beomgyu somehow find out about his crush on him? 

He decides to confront him about it, and waits until after his shift is finished to approach him as he’s leaving the café. 

“What are you doing here?” Beomgyu asks, avoiding eye contact and looking at the ground. 

“Why are you avoiding me?” Taehyun asks bluntly. “Did I do something wrong? We don’t have a lot of time left, but you keep ignoring me.” 

“It’s nothing. Sorry, I’ve just been busy with other things.” Beomgyu sighs, running a hand through his hair. 

“It’s not just that.” Taehyun argues. “Even when I’m at the café and you’re free, you hardly talk to me anymore. Why are you going back to how it was before?” 

Taehyun clenches his fists, trying to hold himself back from getting more annoyed. He’s just frustrated that they’d come so far in their friendship, and yet it’s as if Beomgyu has forgotten the past year. As if it meant nothing to him. 

“Look, I don’t need your help anymore. I can figure out how to break the curse by myself. Stop worrying about it and focus on your own life.” Beomgyu says sternly, eyes dark and unrecognisable. 

“Clearly you can’t, because you haven’t been able to find anything your whole life.” Taehyun retorts, harsher than he intended. “I said I would help you break the curse no matter what, so why are you suddenly pushing me away?!”

“Why are you so obsessed with me?! Is it just so that after I become a crane again, you can capture me for yourself?!” Beomgyu’s eyes turn glossy. 

“Beomgyu, what-”—Taehyun stares in shock, mouth gaping open slightly—“How could you even say that? Has our friendship meant _nothing_ to you?” 

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s all been an act. I’ve finally perfected all the ways to act like a human, and you’ve fallen right for it.” Beomgyu lets out a shaky breath. 

“Stop it! You don’t know what you’re saying. You’re not thinking straight.” Taehyun says, reaching for his hand until he notices they’re behind his back. 

“ _You’re_ the one not thinking straight. How could you think I would actually _like_ humans? You’re all disgusting in the end as always, only wanting to help me for your own selfish needs!” 

“Beomgyu, wait-” 

“Just leave me alone!” 

Beomgyu runs off into the cold winter night and Taehyun watches him disappear into the distance. 

Taehyun decides to give him some time over the weekend, but it doesn’t stop him from worrying and missing him. Beomgyu has stopped replying to his texts altogether, and not even the other three have heard from him. 

He feels like he’s back to square one, hearing Beomgyu’s words, although he has a feeling they’re not completely true. Truth be told, the words hurt him and pierced his heart to think that they might be Beomgyu’s hidden feelings, but he doesn’t believe them. He doesn’t let them get to him, because there’s no way that their almost whole year together has accumulated to nothing. He’s seen Beomgyu’s genuine colours, and he knows they can’t be fake. 

By the time Beomgyu has missed both his Monday and Tuesday shift due to “feeling unwell”, Taehyun knows he can’t let it go on any longer. Without any warning, he knocks on the door to Beomgyu’s apartment. 

With one look through the peephole, Beomgyu simply says, “Go away.” 

“I can’t let this go on any longer.” Taehyun says firmly. “I’m waiting here until you let me in.”

“I’m not letting you in. Go home.” 

“Suit yourself.” Taehyun hugs his thick jacket tighter around his figure and plants himself down in front of Beomgyu’s door. 

“Taehyun. I’m serious.” 

“So am I.” 

“What part of ‘Leave me alone’ don’t you understand?” Beomgyu frowns, finally opening the door after Taehyun moves away from it. 

“All of it. I don’t understand any of it, because I know you were lying.” 

“How so?” Beomgyu chews his bottom lip nervously. 

“Your hands. You always hide them when you get nervous, playing with them behind your back to calm yourself.” 

Beomgyu clicks his tongue, annoyed, and runs a hand through his hair. 

“I really can’t keep anything from you, can I?” 

“Nope. We’ve spent almost a year together, Choi Beomgyu. I _told_ you I’m good at reading people.” Taehyun chuckles. “Now hurry up and let me in. The food is getting cold.”

Beomgyu sighs and lets him in, welcoming Taehyun into the warmth of his familiar apartment, and letting the door block the cold air outside. Without any words, he grabs the cutlery and dishes for their takeaway dinner. He won’t admit that he’s more relieved to see the redhead than he realises. Taehyun has become part of his everyday life, and without him, nothing has felt the same.

“Wow, good thing I brought food. You’ve really been cooped up this whole time?” Taehyun chuckles, looking at Beomgyu’s several cups of instant ramen and empty takeaway containers in the kitchen. 

“Shut up. I was just lazy.” 

They eat wordlessly, focusing on the food rather than each other, fully understanding that they’ll have a proper conversation after they’ve filled themselves up. Taehyun is just glad to be in his presence again.

“Did you bring me medicine?” 

“Oh, yeah. I wasn’t sure if you were actually sick or not.” Taehyun chuckles. 

An awkward silence. 

“I thought I could break the curse.” Beomgyu says bluntly, not wasting any time.

There’s no longer any point in trying to distance himself from Taehyun, because he knows the younger can’t and won’t stay away from him. _Especially_ with the clock ticking down. 

“How?” It’s a soft whisper, and Taehyun hates himself for feeling more relieved that it didn’t work than disappointed. 

“I thought that my ancestor’s mistake was in loving the princess. And that he shouldn’t have even tried from the start.” Beomgyu takes a deep breath. “I thought if I distanced myself again, it would mean that I’ve stopped... I dunno, liking humans?” 

“I don’t… I don’t understand…” Taehyun pauses, trying to process Beomgyu’s words. “Beomgyu-hyung… does this mean you _like_ humans? Genuinely?” 

“I… Yes. I think… you changed my perspective, and now… I don’t inherently hate humans.” Beomgyu looks down, playing with his fingers nervously. “I don’t know _why_ but… I _can’t_. And I don’t know if it’s right or not, and it’s driving me crazy.” 

“Hyung, listen.” Taehyun takes his nervous hands and caresses them in his own. “If breaking the curse meant you should stop liking humans, you would have broken it years ago. I think that the whole reason the curse was inflicted was _because_ your ancestor started to hate humans. I think we’re definitely making progress, but we just don’t know what the final boss is.” 

“Okay.” Beomgyu nods shyly. 

He deliberately doesn’t tell Taehyun about how he wanted to stop his feelings for Taehyun specifically, but thankfully the younger doesn’t catch onto the fact that Beomgyu is still hiding things from him. 

“I don’t know what else to do, then.” Beomgyu sighs. 

“We’ll work it out, hyung. I promise.” Taehyun smiles, and Beomgyu’s heart blossoms with a familiar warmth that he’s missed seeing for the past week. 

“What have you been doing, all cooped up at home, anyway?” Taehyun asks curiously as he helps Beomgyu clean up.

“Mmm… mostly working on the song. It’s pretty much finished but just needs the final touches. And no, you can’t listen to it.”

Taehyun chuckles, “You know me so well.”

“Come to the concert if you want to hear it.” Beomgyu blushes. 

“Of course I’ll be there.” Taehyun smiles fondly. “What kind of a friend would I be if I missed your first public performance?”

“A crappy one.” 

“It’s a rhetorical question, hyung.” Taehyun giggles. 

“Sure. Anyway, it’s on the 5th of March, a Friday night. The week before my birthday.” Beomgyu sighs again. 

“I’ll be there. Pinky promise.” Taehyun holds out his pinky as Beomgyu stares at it, confused. “You’re supposed to connect your pinky with mine, silly.”

Taehyun takes his hand and connects his pinky with Beomgyu’s, squeezing it gently. 

“Apparently if you break it, it means your finger will break in return.” Taehyun laughs, although Beomgyu takes it seriously for a good five seconds. 

“Thanks for coming over. And for the food.” Beomgyu gives a shy smile.

 _‘_ There’s _the smile I’ve missed.’_

Taehyun doesn’t realise he’s said it out loud until Beomgyu’s ears turn red and he breaks eye contact with Taehyun. He blushes profusely before bowing his head and bidding him a good night, embarrassed that he’d voiced his inner thoughts. 

Beomgyu wouldn’t get weirded out, though, would he? 

  
  


The 27th of February is a Saturday night, and one where Beomgyu shows up at Taehyun’s doorstep with no explanation, which is quite unusual for him, as weird as he can be. Kai is staying over at Yeonjun’s again, so thankfully Kai isn’t there to tease him or anything.

“Hyung? Is something the matter?” 

“Come with me.”

“You’re gonna need to explain more than that.” Taehyun chuckles. “Please don’t tell me this is the part where you take me to some isolated place and kill me or something.”

“Well, yeah-”

“Oh god-”

“Except for the killing!” 

They can’t help but burst into a little fit of giggles. 

“It’s a full moon tonight.” 

Just with those words alone, Taehyun instantly understands and it clicks in his mind. This is Beomgyu’s last 24 hours as a crane, provided that they don’t actually break the curse in the end. 

“Hyung…” 

“I’m… don’t worry about me.” Beomgyu fakes his signature smile and Taehyun’s chest squeezes painfully. “I’ll show you.”

“Show me…?”

“Y-You’ve always wanted to see me transform again.” Beomgyu blushes, pursing his lips together. “I thought I could finally show you. Just in case.” 

“Really?” Taehyun’s eyes light up excitedly as Beomgyu nods. 

He hurriedly grabs a warm jacket before locking his apartment and following Beomgyu to his car. To say he’s excited is correct, but there are other, more complex feelings involved. 

Taehyun’s had the privilege of seeing Beomgyu’s crane form a few times throughout their past year, sometimes out the window during his class as he watches the beautiful out-of-place crane on the roof of another building, and sometimes flying in circles above their apartment rooftop in the distant sky. But Taehyun has never once seen him transform again. 

The only thing he remembers from his experience as a child was that it was beautiful and dazzling, so bright that he blinked and in a split-second, the boy was a crane again, flying away. Even so, he just wants to see the beauty of Beomgyu’s transformation again. Especially if it’s the last time. 

_‘No, stop thinking like that. Beomgyu_ will _break the curse and he’ll finally be free.’_ Taehyun shoves down the hints of hope trying to burst at the seams of his heart. 

Beomgyu takes him to the Han River, to a more secluded part of it (or so Beomgyu says). Despite it being 9 at night, there aren’t many people around, and they sit on the grass together, the chilly winter breeze still present, even though spring is approaching. 

“This is my special spot. It’s where I turn into a crane, because it’s so isolated, but it’s also a place to be alone in the quiet.” Beomgyu says, hugging his knees for warmth. 

“It’s beautiful.” Taehyun admires the water flowing steadily as the surface reflects the full moon in all its glorious radiance. “I’ve always wondered, but do you always have to transform near water?”

“Not all the time. Just where you can see the moon. But… I‘m not sure. Something about the water… kind of connects me, in a way, to cranes... I think. The water… it comforts me, I suppose.” Beomgyu smiles. 

“Maybe it’s the image of the moon reflected on the water. That’s what always struck me about the lakes.” Taehyun says softly. “Until I saw you.” 

Beomgyu turns to look at Taehyun, admiring his starry eyes that capture him once more. He makes a move to get up, but Taehyun tugs on his sweater. 

“Wait. Before you go…” Taehyun takes his hand and squeezes it softly. “Are you okay?” 

Was he? This could be the last time he ever gets to experience the freedom of flying, of not being bound by human rules. Or it could be the last time before he gets to live the rest of his life in such freedom. They just don’t know. 

And that’s what scares him. The unknown. What’s so special and specific about the solution that even his generations of ancestors never figured it out? Is there a special ritual he should do? A blood sacrifice? There are too many possibilities to count, and perhaps that’s why they’ve been stuck for so long. 

“I’ll be okay.” He says, although his poignant gaze towards the starry sky doesn’t convince Taehyun. 

This is all he’s ever wanted in life, right? To finally be free, to live as a crane and not in the human body he’s loathed all this time? It’s all he’s ever wanted, and yet he might not get it. Beomgyu never really registered it until now. He’s been pushing so hard, running an endless marathon, living his pointless life as a human, that he’s never had the time to stop and think about what lies beyond, if he really doesn’t break the curse. His goal has always been to break the curse before he’s 20, but he’d never thought about after that, if he really _does_ end up a human, stuck in the human world and society until he dies. Would he become like his father, bitter and full of hatred, only turning to alcohol to satisfy his pain? 

He feels a sudden warmth and Taehyun’s arms around him, pulling him to cry on his shoulder like before. He didn’t even realise he was crying in the first place. His body wracks with audible sobs as he clutches onto Taehyun, desperately seeking his comfort and just… needing someone. 

“It’s okay. Let it out.” Taehyun whispers, stroking his back and rubbing circles on it. 

“I’m fucking terrified.” Beomgyu sobs. 

Everything crashes down on him all at once, and his chest squeezes with a suffocating strength while his hands shake uncontrollably, even as he holds onto Taehyun. His throat hurts and his mind is clouded with anxiety as he fears the future and the unknown. 

“Breathe, hyung. Please.” 

Taehyun eventually calms him down, brushing tears away with tender hands as he cups his cheeks and lifts his head ever so gently. 

“Look at me, Beomgyu. Yes, the truth is that this might be the last time… So you’d better fly wherever the hell you want to go. I don’t think you can travel the entire world, but you can still go as far as your wings will take you.” Taehyun takes a deep breath. “But I promise you, that if this is the last time, I’ll make sure your human life is the best life ever. I’ll make sure you never regret us running out of time, and that you won’t regret being stuck as a human. We’ll travel and explore the world, and I’ll make sure you’re happy, even if you can’t fly anymore. We’ll create our own wings. I promise.” 

Beomgyu’s breath hitches at Taehyun’s bold words, and his smile warms Beomgyu’s heart, instantly easing the storm in his chest and the trembling of his body. They give Beomgyu comfort, but there’s also something… bright. Something that tells him everything will be okay. Something that actually makes him look forward to the future, even beyond his 20th birthday. (Later, he’ll learn that it’s called hope.)

_‘Creating our own wings. It sounds… nice.’_

Beomgyu nods and wipes his tears, sniffling as he says a soft, “Thank you, Taehyun-ah.” 

“Now go. Don’t waste any more of your time.” Taehyun chuckles. 

Beomgyu smiles at him, long and hard, into his beautiful starry eyes, and then he turns towards the water. He stands up and takes out his feather necklace, holding the feather in his hand. There’s the bright, dazzling light that doesn’t blind Taehyun (it’s more of a soft light this time) and as Beomgyu looks up towards the sky, his whole body glows. His wings spread out, sparkling radiantly as he wraps himself in them. When he unravels his wings again, the light slowly fades, leaving a beautiful crane in the moonlight. The crane bows his head at Taehyun, allowing him to pet his head and beak once more. He nuzzles his head against Taehyun's forehead, nudging him and allowing him to wrap his arms around his delicate body. They stay silent for a while, resting in each other's presence and finding their comfort in each other. 

Beomgyu parts from Taehyun's embrace, to his reluctance, and enters the water. Taehyun watches as Beomgyu dips his sharp beak into the water and drinks, legs bending like a ballet dancer, dignified and gentle. After he drinks, he finally takes flight, flapping his strong wings into the air as he finds the current and travels to the west, gliding gracefully through the night sky. 

He still can’t tell whether Beomgyu’s human form or crane form is more beautiful, but the best part is that they’re one and the same. 

Taehyun is left alone to admire the moonlit river, the lingering touch of Beomgyu’s embrace and the image of Beomgyu’s magnificent crane form imprinted and left to remain in his mind. 

_‘So that was it.’_

It could either be the last time he ever transforms, or the last time before he leaves to live as a crane, but both ways have the same outcome. That was the last time Taehyun would ever see his crane. If Beomgyu successfully breaks the curse and is still able to turn into a crane, he’ll abandon his human life. He’ll leave Taehyun for good, and Taehyun will be left wondering what it was all for. 

_‘No. It’s all for Beomgyu. That’s what this past year has been. It’s been for Beomgyu’s happiness.’_

And yet, Taehyun can’t help the salty beads of tears that trickle slowly down his face. He finally found his crane, but at what cost? He’ll never get to see his beauty as a crane again, and he’ll eventually forget what he looks like, just like his younger self. 

But the reason why Taehyun is crying is not just lamenting seeing his crane for the last time. It’s more so a fear of the future. These last few weeks are crucial. They still have no clue of what could actually break the curse, and they won’t know until midnight of Beomgyu’s 20th birthday. Apparently the goddess herself would speak to him.

These last few weeks could either be Taehyun’s last few weeks with Beomgyu, or a few weeks on top of his remaining human life. Taehyun selfishly hopes deep down inside that it’s the latter. His feelings for Beomgyu rear its ugly head as he dreams of a future with Beomgyu. If Beomgyu stays as a human, perhaps he’ll become even worse than his original state, and he’ll revert back to hating the world and humans. Or perhaps he’ll be convinced of Taehyun’s words, and he’ll find a reason to keep living. Either way, Taehyun doesn’t know if it’s possible for Beomgyu to develop romantic feelings at all. 

So it’d probably be better for Taehyun to get rid of them, but it’s easier said than done. 

_‘Will I ever move on? Or will I just keep hopelessly loving him?’_

Taehyun’s never had to deal with these romantic feelings before. They’re somewhat foreign to him, in terms of understanding them and how strong they are... how easy they are to get rid of. Not very easy, but maybe not impossible, is what Taehyun concludes. 

_‘Just focus on breaking the curse first. Worry about how to move on later. There’s no time.’_ Taehyun preaches to himself. 

_‘Always remember. Beomgyu’s happiness, not yours.’_


	7. vii

It’s finally here. The orientation concert that Beomgyu has been preparing for for the past five months or so. His first public performance in front of who knows how many hundreds of students. He’s terrified to say the least. 

The issue of only having seven days to figure out the secret behind his curse also lingers in the back of his mind. If anything, it should be the more pressing issue, but Beomgyu figures it can wait until after the performance. 

If anyone asks him, he’s nervous because he’s performing in front of others, his music open and exposed for others to judge and criticise, but if he asks himself, there’s something more worth worrying about, and that’s Kang Taehyun. 

Beomgyu doesn’t remember exactly when he’d decided to write his song about Taehyun, but it just came naturally. When he was playing around with the chords, he was thinking of Taehyun, and it flowed better than a lot of his other scrapped compositions. He struggled on the lyrics for the longest time, unsure how he would word his feelings towards Taehyun, or if he even _wanted_ to, but there was nothing else he could think of in the end when it came down to thinking of a subject. They’re taught to find inspiration in something, some _one_ , and for Beomgyu, that was Taehyun. 

Every time he practises his song, he’s still so embarrassed by it, and he’s scared of how Taehyun will react, but he hopes they can still be friends after this. He doesn’t think Taehyun has ever caught onto his ‘feelings’ (thankfully he can be dense in that area) so the song will surely come as a surprise to him. 

His rehearsals are only in the afternoon, so Taehyun agrees to meet up with him in the morning to walk around the different stalls. 

“Hyung! Sorry, were you waiting long?” Taehyun jogs over and smiles at him. 

“Nah. You’re on time.” Beomgyu smiles back. 

“Great! I got given a map earlier, so what we can do is walk through the clubs and faculties, and then all the food stalls are over here, along the music building.” 

“Sounds good.” Beomgyu smiles shyly, hoping Taehyun doesn’t catch onto his nerves. 

They walk through the various different stalls for clubs, each with different activities or displays and pitches that try to convince them to join, since neither of them are part of a club. Even when Taehyun came up with the excuse that he was already in the Choir Club, they’d told him he could be part of two clubs, completely rendering his plan useless. They also run into Soobin, manning the Literature Club stall, reading a book. 

“You made it. It’s pretty crazy around this time.” Soobin laughs.

“Tell us about it, we got stopped... maybe five times?” Beomgyu sighs. 

“Clearly the key is to keep walking.” Taehyun concludes. 

“Good to hear you’ve only just figured it out.” Soobin chuckles. “Beomgyu-ah, your concert is tonight, right? When’s rehearsal?”

“I think my slot is around 4? Concert doesn’t start until 6.” Beomgyu says. “We can still hang out at the café for lunch if you want.” 

“Ask Yeonjun-hyung and Kai. I’m not sure when Yeonjun-hyung has rehearsal for his dance piece, and Kai is most likely with him.” 

“Thanks, hyung. See you around!” They bid him farewell and continue their way to the food stalls. 

They enjoy the various free snacks, and it reminds Beomgyu of the festival they went to in Daegu, another favourite memory of him and Taehyun together. Maybe it was during that week in Daegu that Beomgyu started feeling things for Taehyun, even if he didn’t realise it at the time. After all, the image of Taehyun’s beautiful starry eyes reflecting the world never left his mind. 

The lyrics of his song replay in his head throughout the whole time he’s with Taehyun, and he tries his hardest to not make it obvious that he’s staring and thinking about Taehyun, rather than actually listening to him. 

They eventually find Yeonjun and Kai (after messaging them) at a photo booth, having just taken their cute and goofy couple shots. 

“Hey! How’s the free food?” Yeonjun smiles wide. 

“Better than last year.” Taehyun laughs. “Photo booth, huh? Cute.” 

“It’s been a while.” Kai blushes lightly. “Are you two gonna take some?” 

“W-What? Why would we?” Beomgyu’s cheeks warm up. 

“It’s fun. You do know that best friends can take photos in a booth together, right?” Yeonjun deliberately teases, raising his eyebrows. 

“Why not? Sounds like fun, hyung.” Taehyun says, calm as ever. 

“S-Sure.” Beomgyu nods shyly. “Oh wait, Yeonjun-hyung. Before you go, when’s your rehearsal? Soobin-hyung wanted to know if you’re still up for lunch at the café.”

“Mine’s at 2. We can meet at the café at 1?” 

“Sounds good. See you then.” 

The two bid farewell to the couple, smiling as Kai clings to Yeonjun with an arm around his waist and the elder hangs his arm around Kai’s neck, kissing his cheek affectionately. 

Beomgyu can’t help but feel something squeeze inside of him. He doesn’t know what the feeling is called, but it’s a mix of being happy for them and feeling something else for himself. Sometimes he wonders if he’ll ever learn the names to these emotions. 

“Shall we go?” Taehyun says nervously. 

Beomgyu blushes again and nods. They sit in the booth, taking a few awkward shots at first, but eventually laughing more naturally and posing well. Beomgyu looks at the photos and his heart feels like it’s over the moon, joy bubbling within him as he smiles wide at them. Taehyun stares fondly at Beomgyu without the latter even realising it. 

“You’re happy.” Taehyun giggles softly. 

“Yes, I am.” Beomgyu smiles back. He resists the urge to cup Taehyun’s cheek again. 

“I’m really excited to finally hear Beomgyu-hyung’s own song!” Kai exclaims excitedly, sitting in Yeonjun’s lap. 

“Don’t expect too much.” Beomgyu blushes. 

“Too late for that.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“Hey, you mean you aren’t excited to see my solo dance?!” Yeonjun pouts dramatically. 

“I never said that, silly Juni.” Kai giggles and turns around to kiss his forehead. “You know I’m looking forward to it the most, babe.” 

“You’d better…” Yeonjun pouts. 

“Kai-ah, you’d better keep tabs on your boyfriend. He’s not single like last year’s orientation anymore.” Soobin teases. 

Kai groans, remembering how Yeonjun had performed his solo dance and was flooded with girls ready to ask him out and give him their numbers afterwards. Kai had been looking forward to congratulating Yeonjun on the amazing performance that he’d finally gotten to see in person for once (the previous years, he’d only seen Yeonjun’s solo dance recorded on a phone screen with crappy quality that couldn’t give justice to Yeonjun’s abilities and beauty), but he had to wait at the café patiently for him to lose all his fangirls. He’s surprised Yeonjun didn’t notice how grumpy he was that day, with Taehyun immediately calling him out for being jealous later that night. 

“With how much PDA they show, I’m sure the only competitors will be the new students.” Taehyun laughs, sipping his coffee. 

“Don’t worry, baby, I’ve only got my eyes on you.” Yeonjun hugs him and kisses his cheek. “Wherever you are in the crowd, my eyes will find you.” 

Kai blushes and hides his face in embarrassment, even though he secretly loves it. 

Beomgyu always finds their interactions so fascinating. This is what love is. This is what being in a relationship is like. Is this what he feels for Taehyun? Would he want to do these things with Taehyun too? 

(He doesn’t realise that just by thinking about Taehyun, he’s automatically hoping for it and falling harder for the boy.)

“All right, I’d better get to rehearsal. I’ll see you guys later!” Yeonjun smiles, kissing Kai on the lips before leaving the café. 

“Take care! Don’t forget to stretch! Stay hydrated!” Kai fusses, earning a quick thumbs up from Yeonjun. 

Beomgyu feels his heart squeeze again at how Yeonjun and Kai care so much for each other, always looking out for one another. 

When they’d come back from their holidays, holding hands and blushing nervously, Beomgyu was honestly happy. He’d known Yeonjun was planning it ever since they talked about it, and he was glad that it all worked out. 

“About time!” Taehyun laughed, congratulating them. 

“Finally. Now apologise to me for having to suffer through your awful mutual pining.” Soobin demanded, earning another blush from both parties and a small “Sorry”. 

According to Kai, they were sitting on the rooftop of Kai’s house, like they usually did when they were kids, and Yeonjun just straight out confessed to him; there was nothing extravagant and no dramatic actions like his character, but it was honest and gentle, just like how he said he wanted to treat Kai from then on. 

Back then, Beomgyu didn’t think much about it. Now, Beomgyu is starting to wonder whether it’s something he needs to consider after Taehyun hears his song. Beomgyu definitely wouldn’t call it a confession, since he wouldn’t say he’s in love with Taehyun—he doesn’t want to get it wrong and cause more problems—but he does want to be honest with Taehyun about how he feels. About how he’s confused, and how Taehyun’s been driving him crazy for so long now. Maybe Taehyun will know what he’s feeling, and he’ll be able to tell him. Would that make things awkward? Hopefully not. 

Soon enough, they decide to hang out at Kai and Taehyun’s place to play games (“Juni-hyung can’t complain, he comes here every week.” Taehyun retorted when Soobin asked if he would be jealous) and in their comfortable apartment, all of them preferring it to being outside. 

“All right, I’ve gotta go.” Beomgyu says, taking his keys and standing up. “See you later.”

“See you!” Kai and Soobin call out, too immersed in the game. 

Taehyun however, forfeits his chances of winning and walks Beomgyu to the door. 

“See you later, then. You can do it! You’re amazing and you know it. Just be yourself.” He says encouragingly. 

“Thanks. It… It means a lot.” Beomgyu blushes again, playing with his hands. “See you tonight. Promise?”

He holds out a pinky and Taehyun giggles.

“Promise.” 

The concert has kicked off and to say Beomgyu is nervous is an understatement. This is it. There’s no turning back. The schedule has kicked off, and now everything is running to a strict time schedule and order of performances stuck multiple times on the walls of the green room and backstage rooms. He’s glad that he’d eaten something early (as per Yeonjun’s advice), otherwise he might do something worse, on top of his already nervous and raging stomach. 

“It’ll be fine, Gyu.” Yeonjun pats his back. “You’ll do great. You’ve practised so hard for this.” 

Beomgyu nods and tries to calm himself down with the breathing exercises Taehyun taught him. He’s performing at the halfway mark (“To draw the people back in if they’re bored.” His professor had told him) whereas Yeonjun is the last performance, the “save the best for last”. He wonders how Yeonjun does it every year, having to suffer through all the other performances until he can finally release his anxiety and get it over and done with. The pressure of performing last must be immensely suffocating. 

“The key is to enjoy it, Gyu. You find the person you’re performing for, or maybe if they’re not there, you think about them (for Yeonjun, it was always Kai) and you focus on them, as if they’re the only ones listening and watching you. Trust me, it helps to calm your nerves. That person will love your performance no matter what. You just need to find them.” 

Beomgyu takes his advice to heart, and he finds himself grateful that he can already think of someone. If he hadn’t met Taehyun last year, he wouldn’t be able to think of anyone at all. He’d have no one to perform for, except himself. But this time, Beomgyu is performing for _Taehyun_ (and quite literally at that). 

“Beomgyu-ssi! Are you ready? You’re up after the next act.” 

“Yes, I’m ready.” Beomgyu gulps, gripping his guitar as he’s in the habit of doing when he’s stressed. 

As the next performance starts, he decides to peek his head out through the side curtain, just to find Taehyun in advance. It’s dark, and the only light source comes from the spotlights that are illuminating the stage, overwhelmingly bright. He searches harder, scanning the other side of the hall, and his heartbeat quickens. Holy shit. What if he can’t find him in time? 

He panics even more, squinting and looking at each head meticulously, searching for the familiar red hair that he’d dyed in winter, before Christmas, and feeling his heart pound in his head every time he clears a row of people. He hears the song enter the bridge and he’s fucked. Maybe this was a bad idea. Yeonjun should have never told him that advice, because now he can’t find Taehyun and he’s freaking out. 

“Beomgyu-ssi, please be on standby.” The female student taps his shoulder and he jumps. 

_‘Fuck.’_

He nods, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans and waiting at the side of the stage for the curtains to close. 

_‘Choi Beomgyu, calm down. He’s just hiding in the dark. He’s there. He promised. He wouldn’t break it.’_

Applause.   
The curtains close.   
The group of female dancers quickly run off the stage out the other side.   
Beomgyu takes one shaky step forward after the other.   
He plugs in his guitar lead and sits on the stool.   
A male student hurriedly adjusts his microphone stand for him.   
The curtains rise, and the spotlights almost blind him with dazzling light and an unexpected warmth.   
He searches the crowd.   
There, smack bang in the middle, he finally sees Kai’s hand waving around like a maniac.   
He looks to the left, and sees Soobin smiling at him.   
He looks to the right.  
It’s an empty seat. 

_'What the fuck?’_

Taehyun’s supposed to be there.  
_Taehyun_ is _supposed_ to be _there_.  
Why isn’t he there?

He can’t hear anything except the sound of his heart pounding in his head, and he thinks he stopped breathing. Everyone is staring at him, waiting for him. Someone in his in-ears tells him to start playing, but none of it matters. 

Because Taehyun is not there, when he’s supposed to be. 

Yeonjun told him to visualise him and think of him if he wasn’t there. But this is different. This isn’t “Kai can’t come because his school term already started”. This is “Taehyun promised he would come—he pinky promised—and he isn’t fucking there”. This isn’t even “Taehyun is sitting in a different spot”, it’s “Taehyun is supposed to be with Kai and Soobin, they agreed to have dinner before the concert together, and yet he’s not there”. 

He doesn’t know how much time has passed, but the lights turn off and the curtains close once more. 

None of it even matters. 

He leaves his guitar, and he runs. 

The audience gasps as he runs backstage, exits to the left, and he just runs, not even hearing Yeonjun call after him, or the confused students calling his name. 

He has only one place in mind. 

* * *

_5:03PM, before the concert._

Taehyun, Kai and Soobin settle on eating at one of the burger restaurants at the university, since Kai is in a hurry and “needs to find the best spot to see Juni-hyung”. The doors open at 5:30PM, so technically, they have plenty of time.

Thankfully the place isn’t too busy yet. They’ve visited this place multiple times, when they get too sick of café food or takeaway. Usually it’s a bit of a treat, since the place is a tad expensive (it’s university, what do they expect?) and Taehyun wonders what Beomgyu and Yeonjun will be eating for dinner. 

Just as they’re about to leave, Taehyun gets a call from his mother. 

“Eomma?”

_“T-Taehyun-ah! Oh, t-thank goodness you picked up. It’s your appa. H-He… He collapsed-”_

“What?! How?”

_“I-I don’t know! I found him c-collapsed in the living room.”_

“Did you call the ambulance? Is he breathing?!” 

_“Y-Yes, he’s still breathing. I called them and they’re on the way. We’re heading to the hospital. Could you meet us there?”_

“Yeah, of course. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

_“Okay… good…”_

“Eomma, just breathe. Focus on your breathing.” 

_“Okay. I-I’ll see you soon.”_

“See you. I love you.” 

“What was that? What happened?” Kai asks, worried.

“My appa collapsed. I need to go to the hospital.” Taehyun grips his phone, hands shaky. 

“Do you need me to drive you? I can get you there the quickest.” Soobin says, already pulling out his keys. 

“But the concert…”

“Can wait. Kai will save us seats.”

“What? No, I’m coming too-”

“Kai, stay here. It’s okay. I’m with Taehyun.” Soobin reassures him. 

“If you say so…” Kai frowns. “Should I run and tell Beomgyu and Juni-hyung?”

“No. Don’t distract them. I’m sure they’re both nervous. I’ll leave Beomgyu a message.” 

“Okay. Take care. Don’t speed!” 

“I won’t! We’ll be back later!” 

Soobin and Taehyun quickly run to his car. When they’re inside, Soobin places a hand over Taehyun’s shaking ones. 

“Don’t worry. Your appa will be okay. The ambulance is probably already there.” 

Taehyun nods, unable to speak from the anxiety. He sends a quick flurry of messages to Beomgyu and tries his hardest not to cry. 

**taehyun**

hey sorry but i don’t think i can be there in time for your performance <

my appa collapsed and now he’s going to the hospital <

hyung, i’m really sorry but i need to be there for my eomma <

i know we pinky promised, but i promise i’ll make it up to you <

you can play your song for me again sometime <

you can do it! i know you can. just pretend i’m there listening <

gotta go. i’ll come visit as soon as i’m out of the hospital <

Taehyun runs into the hospital, leaving Soobin a few steps behind him. 

“Taehyun-ah!” 

“Eomma!” Taehyun immediately hugs his mother close, feeding her warmth and comfort. “H-How’s Appa? Is he okay?” 

“He’s okay for now. They’re still taking tests to work out what happened.” His mother says, breathing shakily. 

“Okay. Sit down, Eomma, you’re not steady.” Taehyun sits down with his mother, and then turns to Soobin. “Thank you for driving me, hyung. You can go back to the concert.”

“Are you sure, Taehyun? I can stay with you if you need me.”

Taehyun shakes his head.

“I’ll be okay. Do me a favour and record Beomgyu-hyung and Yeonjun-hyung’s performances.” 

“Will do. Update us if you hear anything.” 

Taehyun nods and watches as Soobin bows, then leaves the hospital. He checks his phone, expecting a reply from Beomgyu. 

But the messages still say “Delivered”. 

It’s an hour of waiting, comforting his mother, and occupying himself with his phone, before the doctors call his father’s name. 

“Yes, that’s my husband.” 

“Great. We can take you to his room and tell you everything there.” 

Taehyun holds his mother’s shaking hand and kisses it. 

“It’ll be okay, Eomma. He’s okay.” 

His mother immediately goes to his side, taking his hand and kissing his forehead. 

“He’s just resting at the moment. We recorded signs of low blood sugar, which likely caused him to faint and collapse. We believe it could either be a result of overworking himself, or other cases, such as developing diabetes. Either way, we’ll need to run more tests and ask him a few questions once he wakes up.”

“Of course. Thank you, doctor.” 

“My pleasure. He’ll be just fine. Please call the nurse when he has woken up.”

Taehyun places a hand on his mother’s back as she sits beside her sleeping husband. 

“He’ll be okay, Eomma.” Taehyun says softly, rubbing her back. 

His mother nods, wiping away her teary eyes and squeezing his warm hand. 

Taehyun’s phone vibrates, surprising him in the silent hospital room.

“You should take that. I’m okay.” She smiles at him. 

Taehyun nods and takes the phone out of his pocket. It’s Soobin. 

“Hyung? What’s-”

_“Taehyun! Beomgyu just ran off stage! We’re-”_

“He what?! What happened?” Taehyun tries to lower his voice and not panic. 

_“We don’t know. H-He saw us, Kai was waving at him, but then he just kept staring. Eventually, the lights went out and the curtain was closing, but he just ran off! We’re trying to find him now.”_

“Wha- Did you try calling him?”

_“He’s not answering. Please, do you have any idea where he could be? We’re checking his apartment, but Kai doesn’t think he’ll be there.”_

One place comes to mind.

“I have an idea. Let’s keep each other updated.” Taehyun says firmly. 

_“Okay. Stay safe.”_

The fastest route to get to Han River is to take the bus. Taehyun hops on quickly, shaking his legs nervously as he sits down. He checks his still unread messages and frowns. Surely he would have checked them before the concert? He tries calling, but nothing goes through. 

_‘Please be safe. I’m sorry. This is all my fault, isn’t it?’_

After Kai and Soobin confirm that he isn’t at his apartment (his car isn’t parked in his designated spot either), Taehyun tells them to stay for Yeonjun’s performance. The concert is coming to a close and Yeonjun still has to perform his dance. 

_“But Taehyun, how sure are you that you’ll find him?”_

“99.9 percent. If he’s not here, I’ll just have to check the next place. I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I’ll message you if I find him.” 

_“Sounds like a plan. Good luck, Taehyun.”_

When he finally gets off the bus, he runs to Beomgyu’s special isolated spot as quickly as his legs will take him. His legs start to ache and his chest burns and it’s hard to breathe, but he needs to find Beomgyu. He has to stop every now and then, breathing heavily and feeling his head throb from the sudden exercise. But he pushes on, for Beomgyu’s sake. 

20 minutes later, he finally reaches the spot (“Always remember the crooked lamp post.” Beomgyu chuckled) and there, sitting beside the rushing water, is a curled up human ball named Beomgyu. 

He quickly messages Soobin to reassure him that Beomgyu’s been found and takes slow steps. 

“Beomgyu-hyung.”


	8. viii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **warning** for swearing

Beomgyu doesn’t know how long he’s been crying for, or not even the reason _why_ he’s crying, but he can’t stop his tears from flowing. He wraps himself up with his fluffy jacket, trying to warm himself up in the chilly night. His chest aches with a nasty feeling, twisting him on the inside. It eats at him, like poison, and his mind whispers more toxic words. 

_“He broke the promise. He never wanted to see you. It was all an act, and you fell for it. He was just making fun of you this whole time. He tricked you. You_ never _should have trusted him. He’s just like all the other humans, disgusting and looking down on you. You’re stronger than them. They just want to hurt you.”_

“But Taehyun… he taught me so many things. He helped me to trust him.” He says to the voices, trying to convince both himself and them. 

_“He’s fake, just like you tried to be. Now that you exposed yourself, he knew it was time to leave you. None of it was real. He’s a liar. You can’t trust humans, don’t you know, Beomgyu?”_

His father’s voice rings in his head.

 _“Listen carefully, Beomgyu. You_ can’t _trust humans. They’re all evil. They hate you. They will never love you. Do you understand me?”_

_“Yes, Appa.”_

It was like a mantra that his father repeated, every time he seemed suspicious or was even seen with someone from school, and especially during his birthday. 

Why didn’t he listen to his father? 

“Beomgyu-hyung.” 

The familiar sweet voice in his daydreams cuts through the memories and voices in his head. 

He turns around, and he sees beautiful Kang Taehyun, panting heavily and hands on his knees. 

His heart feels like it’s stabbed with betrayal.   
That's the word. 

Betrayal. 

“Fuck off.” He growls. 

“Beomgyu, please, let me explain-”

“You fucking promised!” Beomgyu can already feel the tears burning, threatening to spill like a never-ending waterfall.

“I know I did, and I’m sorry! You know! You _know_ I would’ve been there if I had the choice!” Taehyun argues back, his voice shaky. 

“I don’t want to hear your excuses! Fuck, I _trusted_ you! I _actually_ trusted you!”—Beomgyu lets out a wretched sob—“And now you’re turning on me? Lying to me, just like my ancestors?! Fuck, they really weren’t lying when they said ‘History repeats itself’.” 

“Beomgyu, please-” Taehyun sobs, walking closer. “I really _was_ going to go, I wouldn’t break a promise-”

“I don’t want to hear it! If you’re sick of me, all you have to do is say the word!” Beomgyu spits. “All this time, I thought we had something. I thought we became friends, and I thought I could trust you! Was… Was it all a fucking lie?!” 

“No, hyung, please, it wasn’t! How could I ever get sick of you?!” 

“I can’t be here anymore. Just leave me alone-”

Beomgyu gets up and starts to walk away. 

Taehyun grips his wrist, and Beomgyu tries to shake himself free, but Taehyun’s grip is strong, never letting him go. 

“Why can’t you just let me go?! Aren’t you satisfied yet, betraying me like this? Well done, Kang Taehyun, you’ve successfully hurt me.”

“I can’t let you go because I love you!” 

Beomgyu stares in shock as his heart stops and his breath hitches. 

_‘What?’_

“Beomgyu, I never lied. I never even hated you, not once.” A sharp inhale. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. How could I ever hurt you and betray you… when all I’ve ever wanted is to protect your smile?” 

“I… I don’t understand.” 

“I always planned on keeping my promise. Don’t you know how _long_ I’ve been waiting to hear your song? Sure, I’ve heard you cover songs, but never your own.” Taehyun wipes his tears. “I guess you didn’t get my messages. Just as I was going to the concert, my eomma called me. Appa’s in the hospital right now.” 

“What?! Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. Just resting at the moment. The doctors will find out the cause, but other than that, he’s going to be okay.” 

Taehyun lets go of Beomgyu’s wrist and bites his lip nervously. 

“I’m sorry!” 

It’s said at the same time, leaving the two to smile and giggle a little. 

“I… Fuck, I got so angry. I’m so sorry…” Beomgyu sits on the ground, gripping his hair in frustration. 

“It’s okay. You were hurt. You were scared that the same thing that happened to your ancestor was happening to you.” Taehyun sits down next to him and pulls his knees up. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“I’m so sorry. I… I shouldn’t have accused you without listening to you properly.” Beomgyu sighs, wiping his own tears. 

“I’ll forgive you, as long as you stop apologising.” Taehyun giggles. 

Beomgyu smiles and nods. 

“Umm… So… you really aren’t lying?” Beomgyu asks after a long pause. 

“About my appa? Of course not-”

“No, silly.” Beomgyu hides his face and mumbles, “When you said you love me.” 

Taehyun blushes, his cheeks turning pink in the spring night. 

“N-No. I’m not lying. I… I told myself that I shouldn’t, because you’re a crane, and eventually, you’ll just leave… But every moment we spent together… I think they only made me fall just a little bit harder every time.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“What does loving me mean to you?” Beomgyu turns to look into Taehyun’s eyes, the only indicator of honesty and sincerity that he’s been able to read from Taehyun. 

“Well… it, uh… it means a lot of things. It means that I’ve always just wanted you to be happy. Hyung, I love your smile the most. Not a fake customer smile, but a real and genuine smile. And your laugh… I could listen to it all day. As well as your voice.” Taehyun smiles fondly. “It means that I dream of a future where I’m with you, exploring the world and being free, in a little bubble of our own, with no one to stop us from being happy.”

“Taehyun… but… why me? I’ve been nothing but terrible to you. I’m a stupid crane who doesn’t even fully understand human emotions yet. I hated you at the start.” 

“That’s not true, hyung. You’re not stupid, you’re just a cursed crane who’s lived a very difficult life.” Taehyun chuckles. “It’s not like I _planned_ to like you, either, when you hated me so much at first. But… you were always a mystery, and as we spent more time together… I guess I just fell for you. I wanted to help you because I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to make sure that you wouldn’t ever be lonely again.

And besides, you’re not terrible anymore. You’re still learning about human emotions and you said it yourself. You can’t hate us humans, or at least definitely not us four. You’re not terrible at all. I know just how capable of loving humans you are. In fact, I think you already see humans differently than to how you did before.”

“Taehyun… I-” 

“I’m sorry.” Taehyun tears up again and quickly wipes his tears. “I know it’s wrong, and that I should just be focusing on breaking your curse so you can be happy and free. I-I promise I won’t let my feelings get in the way. Once you become a crane forever, I’ll move on, don’t worry.” 

“Stop.” Beomgyu musters up all his courage to take Taehyun’s hand in his, brushing his thumb over them, like Taehyun does to him. “Don’t.”

“What…? What do you mean, hyung?” Taehyun asks shakily. 

“Don’t stop your feelings for me.” Beomgyu says firmly. “Look… I don’t really know yet for sure… but I think I also have feelings for you. I just… I don’t know if it’s love or not. Y’know… with the whole ‘still figuring out emotions’ thing.” 

“I… Really?” Taehyun drops his mouth open slightly. 

“Really. You make me feel weird things.” Beomgyu smiles shyly, caressing his hands. “Even just holding your hands… I really like it.” 

“Oh my…” Taehyun gasps softly, then grins at Beomgyu, blushing. “Wow. My heart is pounding right now.” 

“Mine too.” Beomgyu giggles, still unable to process that Taehyun confessed to him. “Um… Just… wait for me, okay? I’ll figure it out, and then I’ll tell you properly. How about the day before my birthday? I wanted to spend it with you after all.”

“Okay. If that’s what you want, it’d be my pleasure.” Taehyun squeezes his hand back gently, making Beomgyu blush again. 

They sit in silence, still holding each other’s warm hands and giving little squeezes before bubbling into a fit of giggles. Beomgyu feels ridiculously happy, in fact so happy that he almost wonders if he’s allowed to feel like this, a week before he could potentially be sentenced to the life of a human forever. 

_‘But,’_ he thinks. _‘I wouldn’t mind it… if I could spend it with Taehyun.’_

He decides that he likes this feeling, and that the fluttery feelings and the fast beating of his heart are feelings that he likes. He likes seeing Taehyun’s cute smile and seeing how he gets embarrassed, sometimes looking away from Beomgyu nervously as he bites on his bottom lip. 

“I should take you home. The others are probably worried.” Beomgyu says, getting up and pulling Taehyun by the hand.

“Y-Yeah, that’s a good idea. The concert would have finished by now.” Taehyun says. 

“Ahh, that’s right. The concert.” Beomgyu huffs out a laugh, already having forgotten what led him to the river. 

Beomgyu leads the walk towards his car, five minutes away, and he still holds onto Taehyun’s hand, hoping the other doesn’t mind. 

“Soobin-hyung said you ran off stage. Was it… Was it because I wasn’t there?” 

“I couldn’t find you. Yeonjun-hyung gave me a tip, and told me that if I was nervous, I just needed to focus on one person… and that was you.” Beomgyu exhales. “I couldn’t find you and I panicked. And then I just left. I didn’t see the point in playing my song if you weren’t there.”

“Oh… Sorry, hyung. I messed up your big performance.” Taehyun sighs, dejected. 

“No, it’s not your fault! I’m not blaming you, silly. You couldn’t have controlled what happened to your appa.” Beomgyu ruffles his hair. “It’s fine. I’ll get another chance later, I’m sure.” 

“Do I… still get a chance to hear it, though?” Taehyun looks up at him, eyes big and pleading. 

“O-Of course. I kinda… I wrote it for you…” Beomgyu looks away, embarrassed. 

_‘How can he get even cuter just with his eyes?!’_ His mind screams. 

“Oh.” Taehyun smiles, squeezing his hand. “I’ll look forward to it, then.” 

The car ride home is silent for the most part, the two of them still shy and awkward and in disbelief. Beomgyu hates that he’s the driver, because it makes it harder for him to both glance at Taehyun _and_ to hold his hand. Taehyun, however, loves it. He can admire every little feature of Beomgyu as much as he wants. He places his hands on his warm cheeks, still in denial and unable to believe this is happening. 

_‘Beomgyu-hyung returned the feelings. Even if he’s not sure… it’s something.’_

His heart soars and pounds with excitement, overjoyed. His dream (or at least part of it) came true. There’s still the prospect of Beomgyu becoming a crane and leaving him lingering in the back of Taehyun’s mind like a nasty disease, but he pushes it away. For now, he’s happy. And more importantly, Beomgyu is too. 

When they get back to Taehyun’s apartment, the other three are waiting nervously in the living room before Kai opens the door. 

“Taehyunnie! You’re okay!” 

“Yeah, I’m fine… Beomgyu-hyung is too…” Taehyun smiles shyly, Beomgyu behind him and still very much holding his hand. 

“Oh my god, did it finally happen?” Yeonjun calls out. 

“Finally-” Soobin starts.

“W-We’re not dating! Stop jumping to conclusions.” Taehyun whines, embarrassed. 

“You’re holding hands! If that isn’t a sign of dating-”

“Not yet.” Beomgyu says firmly, as if protecting Taehyun. “I… I’m still figuring out my feelings. I asked Taehyun for some time.” 

There’s an awkward silence before Yeonjun cuts in with, “Okay, but you’re basically dating-” and Soobin says, “Oh, well, congratulations anyway!” and Kai cheers. 

The two are still left blushing as they enter and to Beomgyu’s disappointment, drop their connected hands. 

“Well, good to see you’re okay, Gyu.” Yeonjun says sincerely. “I got your guitar, by the way.” 

“Thanks, hyung. Sorry I didn’t get to see your dance.” Beomgyu apologises. 

“That’s okay! Soobin-hyung recorded it! Not that it gives justice to the in-person experience, but anyway…” 

Soobin passes his phone over so that the two can watch it, both blushing as they huddle in close together. Yeonjun cuddles Kai from behind, embarrassed and hiding his face on Kai’s back as the younger continues to praise him and gush about how amazing and talented Yeonjun is. 

“All right, I should get going, then.” Soobin says, standing up and stretching. “Is he staying?” 

Soobin points to Yeonjun, who is fast asleep, head resting on Kai’s lap and sprawled along the couch. 

“He’s really tired from today.” Kai chuckles, running his hands through his blond locks. 

“Let him sleep. He can stay over.” Taehyun says. 

“Really? You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. He’s stayed over before.” 

“You’re not jealous that Juni-hyung gets to stay over and Beomgyu doesn’t?”

“S-Shut up, Kai!” Taehyun hits him on the arm. “I-I’ll walk you both out.” 

Taehyun gets up, blushing, as Beomgyu follows behind him. 

“What does jealous mean?” Beomgyu inquires. 

“N-Nothing! It’s nothing important. Just, um… get home safe, okay? Message me when you’re home.” 

“Sure. I will.” Beomgyu takes his hands again, this time kissing it, like he’d seen Yeonjun do before to Kai. “I’ll see you soon.” 

As Soobin and Beomgyu leave, Taehyun is left a blushing mess at the door, already internally scolding Beomgyu for being so damn confident and casual about it all. 

“I’m really happy for you, Taehyunnie.” Kai smiles from his place on the couch where Yeonjun has wrapped his arms around Kai’s waist. ( _‘How can that be comfortable?’_ Taehyun wonders.)

“Thanks, Kai.” Taehyun blushes and heads to the bedroom to get ready to sleep. 

There’s still the lingering “What if”s that pop into Taehyun’s head, feeding his worries and insecurities. 

_‘If it’s only a week that I’ll have with him, I’ll make it the best last week of being a human ever.’_

  
  


**_Saturday_ **

Taehyun shows up at Beomgyu’s apartment early that morning, not wanting to waste any of their days together. Beomgyu’s birthday is next Saturday, so Friday will be reserved for his final day as a human. Six days to plan, then. 

“Good morning!” Taehyun smiles wide, passing Beomgyu the takeaway coffee he’d gotten on the way. 

“You’re excited.” Beomgyu chuckles, letting him in and thanking him for the coffee. 

“I made a decision last night… and we’re gonna make this the best last week of being a human _ever_.” Taehyun grins, sitting down on his couch with him. 

“How… How are you so confident? That we’ll break my curse?” Beomgyu asks softly, chewing his lip. 

“I’m not. But I really do think that you’ve changed since last year, and that’s definitely something. Surely the goddess will see just how much you’ve turned away from what the cranes taught you, and she’ll let you be a crane again.” Taehyun says. “It’s better to be optimistic than pessimistic, right?” 

“I guess so. We won’t know until I meet her.” Beomgyu chuckles. “So… what’s the plan for this week then?”

“Well, I won’t tell you _all_ of it. Otherwise that’d be boring. But today, I thought we could do human things that you haven’t done yet!” Taehyun beams excitedly. 

“Like what?”

“That’s what you’re supposed to tell me, idiot.” Taehyun laughs. “Haven’t you ever made a bucket list of things you want to do?” 

“What’s a bucket list?” 

“Well traditionally, it’s a list of things people do before they die-”

“Woah, hold on, I’m not _dying_ -”

“I know that! But you’re _kind of_ dying. You’re leaving your human life behind.” Taehyun chuckles. 

“Taehyun, we don’t have to do this…”

“Yes, we do. I’m gonna show you that being a human is fun and awesome and way cooler than just flying around and eating all day.”

“Hey!”

“You know what I mean.” Taehyun giggles. 

Beomgyu sighs, “Fine. Give me some time to think while I get breakfast ready.” 

“Okay. I came up with some things.” Beomgyu blushes, sliding the list over to Taehyun shyly. 

“Let’s see… riding a bike, playing with dogs, painting, and stargazing?” Taehyun reads out. “Sounds good!”

“You’re not gonna tease me?” 

“Hyung, I’m not gonna tease you about things you’ve never done before in your life.” Taehyun reassures him. 

“They’re the only things I could think up of… that are actually doable I suppose.” Beomgyu hides his hands under the table. 

“They’re perfect, hyung.” Taehyun smiles at him, holding out his hand. 

Beomgyu blushes and gingerly takes out his hand to interlace it with Taehyun’s, their hands fitting together perfectly. 

He could get used to this.

Taehyun researches the different places to ensure it’s all achievable in a day while Beomgyu gets ready. Taehyun finds it amusing that even though they’ve hung out so many times, now that the feelings are out in the open, he’s even more nervous and embarrassed than before. He never expected Beomgyu to somewhat return his feelings after all. He’d convinced himself it was an unattainable dream, especially since the prospect of Beomgyu loving a human romantically seemed impossible in itself. 

Even if he only gets this one week to spend with him, he’ll make the most of it and create unforgettable memories for the both of them. He doesn’t let himself think about the moment when he’ll have to part with Beomgyu. He’ll worry about that later. 

Beomgyu emerges from his room, looking flawless as ever, leaving Taehyun a bit speechless. Without any words, Beomgyu automatically takes Taehyun’s smaller hand in his, ears turning red as they walk. Taehyun decides holding hands with Beomgyu is his favourite thing. 

They rent bikes first and ride along the park, up and down long pathways with little people. Beomgyu is a natural, picking it up after a few unsteady rides and falls, and quickly gaining confidence and balance to ride alongside Taehyun. Perhaps it’s the closest thing to flying as an on-the-ground experience. The sensation of his face being hit by wind and the rush of air reminds him of flying, but just toned-down. A sensation that he should be looking forward to feeling every day… right? 

At the dog café, Beomgyu is immediately greeted by a crowd of dogs, all of varying breeds and sizes, and Taehyun swears he’s never heard him squeal that high before. Beomgyu absolutely adores them, as Taehyun passes him the treats to feed the dogs and the dogs all follow him around, scurrying on their paws. Taehyun loses sight of Beomgyu, only seeing him as a particularly large fluffy dog in the midst of many. He snaps a few photos to preserve his memory, not wanting to forget how irresistibly cute Beomgyu looks. 

As for painting, they go to one of the university’s art studios to borrow their supplies and space. They’d tried to find an art class, but none were available or close enough. Beomgyu claimed it was fine, since he just wanted to try it out. He’d also asked if they were allowed to use it, and Taehyun chuckled, insisting it wouldn’t be a problem. While they paint (going off picture references from Google), Taehyun puts on his calming playlist as they try to mix and make different colours, sometimes failing. They end up with accidental paint marks on their hands and arms, but it gives them something to laugh about. Beomgyu thinks it’s particularly cute when Taehyun wipes his nose and gets paint on it, although he doesn’t realise until they get home that night, scolding Beomgyu for not telling him in the end. 

Beomgyu’s idea of stargazing was lying down on the rooftop of Taehyun’s apartment, since he thought there’d be a good view. Taehyun had other plans, because he knew how hard it was to stargaze in the city with all the pollution. So he takes them to an observatory, where they see different displays and Beomgyu learns more about the universe than he ever thought possible in one night. There are even telescopes where he can see the stars and even a planet beyond the naked eye. He’s never experienced anything like it. 

It makes Beomgyu feel even smaller, if it’s even possible, and it makes him wonder about the vast world and universe all the more. 

_‘All this wonder… it wouldn’t be possible without Taehyun.’_

  
  


**_Sunday_ **

Sunday is reserved for hanging out with the other three for the whole day. Thankfully, they don’t find it odd that Taehyun wanted to hang out so suddenly, no less with a full plan of where they’d go. They all figure it’s a way for Taehyun and Beomgyu to get used to going out on dates, even though they practically already have a year’s worth of experiences by themselves. 

They go to the arcade again, and Beomgyu has to admit it’s more fun with the other three tagging along than when the two of them went by themselves. He wins a plushie for Kai, beats Soobin-hyung in Street Fighter and gets beaten by Yeonjun in Dance Dance Revolution by a small margin, because they were both pretty terrible at the song on the second-hardest level (they insisted they could take the challenge). He and Taehyun take photos together in the booth, as per Yeonjun’s insistence, this time more awkward and shy as they cuddle closer together. 

One of the things Beomgyu will miss most about Taehyun is his voice. He realises this while it’s Taehyun’s turn singing at karaoke. They’d already done a few upbeat songs, screaming into their microphones and probably losing their voices. Beomgyu doesn’t know if he’s ever laughed so much in his life. But as he’s listening to Taehyun’s beautiful and angelic voice, he hopes to himself that Taehyun will still sing to him when he’s a crane. 

They raid the convenience store for their favourite snacks and instant ramen and other dinner-worthy foods, and head back to Taehyun and Kai’s house for games and their movie night. Beomgyu also realises that he’ll miss gaming. He enjoys it a lot, even if he’s only been playing games for a couple of years (sometimes Soobin would invite him over to play). As they’re watching a romantic comedy movie, Beomgyu understands much more of it than the previous year, when he’d found the romance so fascinating. 

“I understand it more.” He tells Taehyun, who is cuddled up against his side. 

“Good. I’ve accomplished my mission, then.” Taehyun chuckles. 

As the couple get their happy ending, Beomgyu feels a deep guilt, knowing that he can’t give that to Taehyun. Knowing that from Saturday on, Taehyun will be reminded of his love for Beomgyu that couldn’t amount to anything. Of his first love who had to leave him. 

He looks at his three friends, and he laments leaving them as well. Without any notice, he’ll disappear and they won’t even get a proper explanation, never to see him again. He thinks about Soobin and Yeonjun, who first befriended him because he joined the café straight away in his first year of university. Of how they accepted him so easily, even though he was cold and distant in nature. He thinks about Kai, the energetic ball of sunshine who makes sure that they’re all having fun and laughing, and he knows that he’ll miss him greatly. He hopes Kai can look after Taehyun once he’s gone, and that he can do his job for him: staying by Taehyun’s side forever. 

As Taehyun falls asleep in his arms, he’s faced with more overwhelming thoughts that cloud his mind. 

_‘Do I really want to leave?’_

  
  


**_Monday_ **

Taehyun decides they should visit Daegu one last time, just so that Beomgyu can experience his childhood and eat his favourite foods before losing the chance to. Everything about the trip reminds Beomgyu of the first time they’d gone to Daegu together; it feels as if it was ages ago (although it’s only been less than a year) and yet Beomgyu can remember everything so clearly. 

After revisiting his neighbourhood and his favourite shops, they finish their day trip with the famous Seomun Market. Taehyun lets Beomgyu get all of his favourites, amused at how the elder’s face lights up, or how his head shakes as he makes happy noises of approval with every bite, and how he comments on how amazing the food is every now and then. They eat so much that Beomgyu wishes his stomach was bigger, or that they’d skipped lunch. He’ll definitely miss the food. 

“You’re going to miss Daegu, aren’t you?” 

“Technically I can still come here.” 

“You know what I mean.” Taehyun chuckles. “Being human. Going to the convenience store. Listening to music at your favourite store. Eating your favourite food.” 

“I guess I will…” Beomgyu sighs. “I don’t know if I’d be able to realise that without you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that I’ll miss being human… hypothetically, of course… would’ve been such a strange concept to me a year ago.” Beomgyu gives an airy laugh. 

“Told you being a human is better.” Taehyun giggles.

Beomgyu ponders his words for the rest of the day. 

_‘Maybe it is.’_

  
  


**_Tuesday_ **

After a long day in Daegu, Taehyun decides Tuesday is a good day to chill and relax a bit more, especially since they’d returned home late the previous night. In the afternoon, he takes Beomgyu to the library (a bit of an ironic location) not to research the curse, but just to explore books, old and new. The joy of turning pages and reading words that evoke emotions and imagine stories is something that humans take for granted, in Taehyun’s opinion. 

“What’s so good about books? They’re boring.”

“That’s just because you don’t appreciate literature.” 

“All I’m saying, is that sometimes it’s too complicated, or they use words that are difficult to understand.”

“Yep, you’re definitely more of a visual learner. You’re the type that just watches all the movies instead.” Taehyun chuckles. “Why don’t you go find a children’s book then?” 

Taehyun laughs as Beomgyu hits him. 

Taehyun finds Beomgyu a book that he believes is easy enough to understand, and they sit by the window to read, the soft sunlight shining through (not too harsh and not too bright) and illuminating the space. Taehyun is immersed in the nostalgia and memories laced within the words and each scene of a book he hasn’t indulged himself in for a while. Beomgyu tries (keyword: tries) to read the words and make sense of them, but his attention span was not made for reading. 

Instead, he finds himself looking up more than down. Taehyun’s face is illuminated by the warm sunlight, his eyes scanning each sentence and his mouth upturned into a smile every now and then. 

_‘His eyelashes are really pretty.’_

“You’re staring.”

Beomgyu blushes, but his gaze doesn’t leave Taehyun’s face. 

“You’re really pretty.” 

This time, Taehyun blushes, and Beomgyu falls in love with his pretty pink cheeks. 

“Read your book.”

“Why read a book when I can read you?” Beomgyu chuckles and winks. 

“Stop, you’re embarrassing.” Taehyun hides his face with the book. 

It’s safe to say Beomgyu doesn’t stop. 

“So now we’re taking photos with… old cameras?” 

“ _Film_ cameras. Yes, they’re old, but that’s the beauty of them.” Taehyun smiles, passing one of the rented cameras to Beomgyu. “They come out really nice. And you have a limited amount of shots, so make sure you think about each one.” 

Beomgyu looks around the park, and he honestly doesn’t know what to take a photo of. Taehyun had been quite vague in his instructions, only really teaching Beomgyu how to take a photo, and nothing further. He watches as Taehyun angles himself carefully, adjusts the lens, and then clicks the button. It’s another side of Taehyun that Beomgyu has never discovered before. It makes him wonder just how much more there is about this boy that he doesn’t know yet. 

Beomgyu smiles to himself, satisfied with the idea that pops into his head. Much to the other’s dismay, most of his shots end up being of Taehyun. 

“Beomgyu-hyung, the point is to appreciate nature, not me.” Taehyun sighs. 

“I’d much rather take photos of you, though.” Beomgyu says innocently. 

“Here, I’ll teach you how to take a photo of these flowers.” 

Beomgyu ends up taking a surprise shot of Taehyun from behind. 

“The last thing on today’s agenda is baking!” Taehyun exclaims excitedly. “I know you’re bad at cooking, but there’s no way you can go wrong with chocolate chip cookies.” 

“I think you underestimate my baking abilities that haven’t even been tried yet.” Beomgyu says, confused as he looks at the different ingredients and tries to interpret the recipe. 

“Exactly! Now is the perfect time to teach you how to bake.” Taehyun says, determined. 

Beomgyu follows Taehyun’s every instruction exactly, never moving on unless Taehyun was guiding him. He struggles with cracking the eggs, leading him to put too much strength into it and crack the whole thing into the bowl. Taehyun doesn’t scold him though, and simply laughs while picking out the shells. 

“You’re getting flour _everywhere_!” Taehyun laughs. 

“Stop teasing me!” Beomgyu pouts, and throws a handful of flour into Taehyun’s face. 

“Oh, you’re _so_ getting it.” 

The unfinished cookie dough is forgotten as flour hurls through the air and their laughs and squeals fill the kitchen. They call a truce after Beomgyu gets some flour into his eyes (or so he thinks) and Taehyun helps him wash it out. 

“That was fun.” Beomgyu giggles as he’s clearing the bench. 

“You made an even bigger mess than the first one.” Taehyun laughs. “But it’s okay. Nothing we can’t clean up.” 

“At this point, I wouldn’t even mind if the cookies were terrible.” 

“Are you doubting my ability to bake?”

“Maybe a little.” Beomgyu sticks his tongue out, but quickly flinches when Taehyun opens the container of flour again. 

A few minutes later, Beomgyu’s eyes blow wide open and his nose twitches as he sits up from their cuddling position on the couch. 

“What’s up?”

“Is that the cookies? That smell?” He asks excitedly and Taehyun swears he’s actually a puppy.

“Yes, it is.” Taehyun laughs. “It’s my favourite part of baking, other than actually eating it.” 

“Are they ready?”

“So impatient.” Taehyun pulls him back down. “Give it another few minutes.” 

Taehyun’s surprised that Beomgyu’s never eaten homemade cookies, but he’s so grateful that he was able to make it possible and witness Beomgyu’s sheer joy before he turns into a crane. Beomgyu literally doesn’t stop eating them, and Taehyun just laughs as he gets chocolate all over his mouth. 

“I swear I’d stay a human just for the cookies.”

“Goodness gracious, you love them that much?” Taehyun chuckles as Beomgyu nods vigorously, smiling wide and licking his lips.

  
_‘Don’t say things like that. Don’t get my hopes up.’_ Taehyun sighs as his chest hurts again.


	9. ix

**_Wednesday_ **

Beomgyu’s second trip to Everland is with Taehyun, his first being with Yeonjun and Soobin in his first year of university, during one of the holiday periods. He excitedly shows Taehyun his favourite rides, and tells Taehyun they should be glad Kai isn’t here, since he’s not a fan of amusement parks (according to Yeonjun, who lamented before about being unable to enjoy rides with him). Beomgyu manages to win a stuffed bear for Taehyun, while the younger buys them matching animal headbands. 

As they ride the ferris wheel again, they’re both reminded of their first time riding one together, in Daegu the year before. This time, it’s during the day, so Beomgyu can see more clearly and he can actually see all the little people, as they get smaller and smaller as they rise to the top. 

“That was the moment when you taught me that the world was vast and wide, and beautiful… because there’s so much to explore.” Beomgyu smiles, leaning his head on Taehyun’s shoulder. 

“When you’re a crane, you can explore it even more!” Taehyun perks up. “You can literally see every corner of the world, I just know it.” 

“Taehyun-ah… do you really want me to be a crane?” Beomgyu asks softly after a long silence. 

It comes from Beomgyu sensing Taehyun’s eagerness, always talking about how great his crane life will be, and how much better it’ll be (while also trying to convince him that the human life is beautiful and worth missing). 

“What kind of a question is that, hyung?” Taehyun hopes his voice doesn’t crack. “Of course I do. This is what you’ve wanted your whole life. You’ll be happy and free.” 

“Will I?” Beomgyu whispers, asking himself more than Taehyun. 

“Hyung, of course you will. This is what we’ve worked so hard for.” Taehyun threads his hands through Beomgyu’s hair. “You… There’s no other choice. You love flying more than anything.” 

_‘Do I?’_

“But-”

“Trust me, hyung. You’d regret it if you didn’t get to fly again after all this.” Taehyun says, looking out the glass to hide his face and quivering lips. 

Beomgyu gets the feeling that Taehyun doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. 

After the ferris wheel ride, he can tell that Taehyun is in a bad mood, so he takes his hand and drags him to the music store, where he knows Taehyun can cheer up. 

“Hyung,” Taehyun whines. “Where are we going?”

“To my favourite music store. You’ll love it, I promise.” 

To say he loves it is an understatement. Taehyun is obsessed with it. He scolds Beomgyu for never showing him before. It’s a vintage music store, even selling old cassettes alongside vinyls and CDs, which is extremely rare. Beomgyu wonders why he never thought to take Taehyun here before, but the reaction is worth the delay. 

“Come on, I’ll show you where they let you record cassettes.” Beomgyu chuckles, pulling him along and squeezing his hand. 

“Is _this_ where my birthday present came from?”

“Yep. Took ages to find it. It’s probably the only store that does it anymore.” 

Taehyun gapes in awe at the variety of cassettes and the old tape recorder, eyes shining like a kid in a candy store. Beomgyu thinks he could leave Taehyun for the day, and it still wouldn’t be enough time for him to be satisfied. 

“All right, get out. I’m recording a playlist.” Taehyun pushes him out of the little studio. 

“What? I don’t get to hear it?” 

“It’s a surprise.” 

An hour later, Taehyun is finished (with help from the staff), and he emerges from the studio with his very own cassette. He finds Beomgyu listening to a vinyl record and taps him on the shoulder, giggling to himself. 

“Finished?” Beomgyu smiles, interlacing their hands again. 

“Mhmm!” Taehyun nods happily. “Here. It’s a cassette dedicated to you.”

Beomgyu stares at the cute cassette in his hands, decorated cutely by Taehyun, and his heart swells with… affection? Pride? 

“Taehyun-ah… thank you.” Beomgyu smiles. “Let’s listen to it tonight.” 

“Okay.” 

Later that night, they listen to it while cuddling on Beomgyu’s couch after a somewhat home cooked dinner (the oven did most of the work). Taehyun explains each song choice, helping Beomgyu appreciate them more. 

“Didn’t it take you long to figure out what songs to choose, though? You were only in there for an hour. How did you find them so fast?” Beomgyu asks curiously. 

Taehyun curls up against Beomgyu, hiding his blushing face. 

“I… may have already made a playlist for you before.” Taehyun says shyly. “But now that it’s on a cassette, it feels more special.” 

“I’d listen to it every day if I could.” 

“I’ll play it for you. If you ever visit.” Taehyun purses his lips. 

“Of course I will.” Beomgyu says hesitantly. “I… I can’t leave you, Taehyun.” 

“Maybe you should. It’d make moving on easier.” Taehyun mumbles into Beomgyu’s shoulder, trying to stop himself from crying. 

“Taehyun-”

“I’m going home.” 

Taehyun makes a move to get up, but Beomgyu pulls his wrist, letting him crash into Beomgyu’s safe arms. 

“Cry it out. It’s okay.” Beomgyu coaxes him, rubbing his back in gentle circles. 

“Fuck you, Choi Beomgyu.” Taehyun sobs, his voice muffled into Beomgyu’s shirt. “Why does life have to be so unfair?! I don’t understand! Why did I have to fall in love with you when I knew it was fucking pointless?!” 

Taehyun punches his chest softly, choking out sobs and hiccuping as Beomgyu simply continues to comfort him. He listens to Taehyun’s cries, and his heart aches, almost making him want to cry as well. His heart swells with empathy as he understands Taehyun’s frustrations and his raw emotions, evoking his heartache. 

Taehyun eventually falls asleep, too exhausted from his outpour of emotions, and Beomgyu carries him and tucks him into his bed. 

_‘I can’t leave Taehyun, can I?’_

Beomgyu curls up into a ball on the couch, crying his own silent tears as he laments their inevitable separation and how he pulled Taehyun into this whole mess. 

_‘Was it all a mistake? Was it wrong for me to spend time with him and crave his love? I never wanted to hurt him, and now look where we ended up. Why, goddess? Why do I have to leave Taehyun?’_

  
  


**_Thursday_ **

Beomgyu puts a note on the table for Taehyun as he leaves early in the morning for work. 

_Last shift today. I’ll teach you how to make your usual. Swing by anytime._

Beomgyu hates that it’s his last shift, and yet Yeonjun and Soobin have no idea that this will be the last time they ever get to work with him and goof around, making jokes here and there, sharing stories of customer interactions. After working with the both of them for two years, he’s undeniably fallen into a natural harmony, working with them like the most well-oiled machine ever. Most of his university life was spent in this café, so he’s definitely sentimental, although he does well to hide it. It became so natural to him, a part of his routine that helped him live comfortably, and definitely something that helped him to interact better with humans as opposed to his previous 18 years. 

He’ll miss making coffees and running on adrenaline and caffeine during rush hours. He wouldn’t admit it openly, but he’ll miss all of their regulars and the comfortable orders and routine that they brought to his job, making it a thousand times easier. He’ll miss doing mundane things like wiping down tables and cleaning the coffee machine, things that he could do mindlessly to keep him busy and away from social situations. He’ll definitely miss working with his colleagues and the interactions with the kitchen staff, and all the funny memories they shared together. 

Kai walks in at around 10:30, greeting Yeonjun with his daily hug and kiss before turning to Beomgyu. 

“I’m guessing Taehyunnie stayed with you last night?” He sits on Taehyun’s usual stool behind the counter. (“If anything, Kai should have gotten boyfriend privileges before Taehyun did.” Yeonjun argued.)

“Yeah, he’s still sleeping, probably. I told him to come visit when he’s ready, though.” 

“So let me get this straight… you’re still not dating?” Yeonjun raises an eyebrow. 

“Uhh, no. Not officially I guess.” Beomgyu says. “I’m kind of still unsure about my feelings.”

“In what way?” 

“Uhh… I guess I don’t really know if it’s love? Like if it’s the same love he has for me.” Beomgyu bites his lip nervously. 

“What’s your favourite part about Taehyunnie?” Kai asks. 

“So suddenly?” Beomgyu blushes. “And why do all three of you have to hear?” (Soobin joined in after clearing a table.)

“Look, we’re here to help, okay? You’re hopelessly in love with him and you don’t even realise it, so we’re here to knock some sense into you so that you can finally accept Taehyun’s confession.” Soobin sighs. 

“Wait, what makes you so sure-”

“Are you serious?”

“Do you _see_ the way you look at him? Oh wait, you don’t-”

“You literally spend all your time with him-”

“You hold hands everywhere you go. When did that even happen?”

“You pay _extra_ attention when Taehyunnie’s speaking-”

“Okay! Okay! I get it, geez.” Beomgyu silences them. “Do I… Do I make the… the love heart eyes?”

“Yes.” They all say collectively. 

“Look, Gyu, anyone can see it clear as day. Taehyun is the one who makes you the happiest. You love spending time with him, and you honestly know more about him than Kai does, and he’s the roommate.” Yeonjun chuckles. 

“But how do I know I love him the same way?” 

“Answer my question and maybe you’ll find out.” Kai huffs. “What’s your favourite part about him?”

Beomgyu takes a moment to think. It doesn’t take that long.

“His smile. Oh, and his laugh. His laugh is really pretty. He’s also got an amazing voice. He’s always so selfless and caring, as if other people are more important than himself. He always makes me happy, and I like that.” Beomgyu nods definitively after finishing, satisfied with his answer.

“Well, I’d say that’s clearly love.” Soobin smiles. “He wants you to be happy and comfortable, and you’re the same. You love his smile and his laugh and you wouldn’t want him to be sad at all. You want him to be happy.” 

“I do.” 

“And you love spending time with him. That’s a clear indicator that you’d want to stay by his side, as well as for him to stay by yours.” Kai says. 

“I do.” 

“Gyu… what if you couldn’t be with Taehyun anymore?” Yeonjun asks softly. 

“I…” 

It hits him, literally like a light bulb, when the character in the cartoon drawings or memes gets an idea. He thought it was stupid, but he never thought he’d be proven wrong like this. He sees everything clearly. It all clicks in his head. 

“I’d hate it. I can’t imagine it, because I never want to think about it.” 

“I think you have your answer.” 

“I love Taehyun.” 

He loves Taehyun. He is so utterly in love with Taehyun. If he couldn’t be with Taehyun anymore, what would be the point? What’d be the point of living, if he couldn’t spend each day with Taehyun like he does now? Even when they don’t spend physical time together, they always make sure to call or FaceTime at least twice (once in the day and once at night) a day. If he lost that, he doesn’t know what he’d do. Spending a life without Taehyun is meaningless. His soul longs to be with him. 

It sounds dramatic, but Taehyun has interwoven himself into every part of Beomgyu’s life. If Taehyun is taken out, it’s like missing the final puzzle piece. Like losing the map to the maze. 

He can’t leave Taehyun. Both because he can’t do that to Taehyun—he can’t hurt him like that—and because he _himself_ wouldn’t be able to handle it. 

Now he’s sure of his feelings… but he just has to figure out what to do about the curse. 

“Thanks, you guys. You really helped. I understand it clearly now.” Beomgyu smiles.

“Finally-”

“Took you long enough-”

“You owe us-”

“Ahh, shut up!” Beomgyu blushes, turning back to the coffee. 

But yes. He does owe it to them for helping him realise. For making the once foreign emotion of love turn into something tangible and understandable. 

Love is different for everyone, but Beomgyu’s love is found in Kang Taehyun. 

  
  


Taehyun shows up for lunch, smiling wide and greeting the three of them (Kai had to run off for class). But Beomgyu knows better. He sees his puffy eyes and his fake smile and his chest squeezes in pain.

Beomgyu lets it slide, though. He doesn’t want to worry Taehyun, and he certainly doesn’t want to bring up the negatives and make Taehyun sad, rather than happy. Taehyun wanted to spend their last days together smiling and happy, and Beomgyu will make sure they’re exactly that. 

“Ready to learn how to make coffee?” He smiles. 

“I feel like I’m jumping way too many steps here.” 

“No such thing. It’s easy. Just watch and learn.” Beomgyu chuckles. 

Thankfully, Taehyun is a quick _and_ visual learner, because it only takes three demonstrations for Taehyun to pick up the basics of making a macchiato. Beomgyu writes down his specific recipe anyway, but it’s only through practice that Taehyun will truly learn. 

Yeonjun tries to sneak a look, so he can figure out just what exactly differentiates his macchiato from Beomgyu’s but he’s quickly found out and shot down by Beomgyu.

“Only Taehyun gets to learn my secret. It’s _his_ favourite, after all.”

Taehyun makes a final caramel macchiato (because they’ve already made four and can’t possibly chug down anymore) and Beomgyu thinks it’s almost perfect, even just from watching. 

“Wait! We forgot something.” Beomgyu smiles before Taehyun can take a sip. 

“What is it?”

“I perfected it. Watch this.”

And indeed, he does watch. He watches carefully as Beomgyu froths some milk and adds careful drizzles of caramel and meticulously works with a tiny toothpick, his hands slender and precise.

He’s perfected his coffee art that Taehyun had challenged him to do back in second semester the year before. 

On Taehyun’s caramel macchiato is a perfect and beautiful swan. (“Cranes are too hard.” Beomgyu had said.)

“Hyung… it’s beautiful.” Taehyun smiles. 

“Aren’t you going to take a photo?” Beomgyu chuckles. “I’ve lost count of how many I tried and failed.” 

“That’s okay. You made it in the end, and that’s what counts.” Taehyun takes several photos from different angles. “It’s too pretty to drink.” 

“I’ve succeeded then.” Beomgyu laughs softly. 

Taehyun lets out a big sigh, prompting Beomgyu to take his hand and rub his thumb over it. 

“What’s wrong?”

“You already know what’s wrong.” Taehyun looks down. 

A long silence.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Taehyun bites his lip. “It’s just that… it’s coming too soon and all of our ‘last’s are hitting me, and… it hurts.” 

“Taehyun-ah… for all we know, the curse could still be unbroken.” 

“That’s not what you’re supposed to say, though. You’re supposed to be positive about this. You’re supposed to finally look forward to your new life again.” 

“And what if I’m not?” 

“Don’t. Please. Don’t give me hope.” He drops his hand.

“Taehyun, I’m telling the truth-”

“Please, let’s just enjoy these last two days.” Taehyun pleads. “Make me my usual?”

“I already made two, though.”

“Make another one. Please.” 

_‘Convince me that it’s_ not _the last one. That you’ll always be here, smiling happily as I walk in, to make my usual and make my day brighter.’_

“Okay.” 

  
  


**_Friday_ **

It’s D-Day. Their last day together. Taehyun’s not ready for this. He never was. Ever since they’d been trying to break the curse before Beomgyu’s 20th birthday, he’d known this day was coming, and he dreaded it. Beomgyu’s final day as a human, given that they actually succeed. 

Taehyun wakes up with puffy eyes, having cried himself to sleep the previous night, not wanting the sun to rise like it always did, and wanting to stay in Beomgyu’s arms forever. The elder had offered for Taehyun to sleep over, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it. There are some things that Taehyun has to keep himself from doing, because he knows it’ll only make the pain worse. Sleeping with Beomgyu is definitely one of them, amongst a long list of others. Ones that he reminds himself that he mustn't do, especially with today being the last opportunity for anything to happen. 

He places an ice pack over his eyes, hoping to reduce the swelling. Today is not the day to cry and to be sad. He’s supposed to be happy for Beomgyu. He’s supposed to let him go, and yet his heart is the heaviest it’s ever been. After this, he’s going to try his hardest to move on, although it’s unpredictable how long that will take. 

Today, he’s putting on his best mask. He will send Beomgyu off with a smile, and he definitely will not cry until he’s home and alone. Beomgyu told him to take his most important possessions from his apartment (since Taehyun has spare keys) before the landlord realises he’s left and decides to throw out his things. He’ll deal with that later. Today, his mask will not crack, and he will make Beomgyu the happiest human he could ever be. 

“Good morning, hyung!” Taehyun choruses into the phone. 

_“Ugh, what time is it?”_ Beomgyu grumbles raspily, having just woken up.

“It’s only 9. I’m coming over now, so I just wanted to check that you’re awake.” 

_“Yeah, sure. See you then.”_

Taehyun sighs and chuckles softly, “Okay. See you.” 

He knows Beomgyu will definitely go back to sleep, but at least the elder knows he’s on the way. Taehyun takes the 20-minute walk to the campus, enjoying the warm sunlight and spring breeze. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since he’d first traversed this road, probably because so much has happened. He never expected he’d meet someone like Beomgyu, not to mention meet his crane again. He’d passed it off as a distant dream, but it suddenly came true in the form of lonely and cold Choi Beomgyu. Taehyun thinks back to their early days and he honestly laughs and loves them as fond memories. 

How heart-breaking it is, that there’ll be no more memories for them to make. 

Taehyun unlocks the apartment with his spare key, immediately taking his shoes off, putting his things down, and making a beeline for the bedroom. Beomgyu is very much still snuggled up in his sheets, the mornings a bit more chilly than he’d like. Taehyun admires his sleeping face more shamelessly now, loving him openly and freely. 

“Hurry up.” Beomgyu groans, still groggy and tired. 

Taehyun chuckles and settles under the blanket as Beomgyu opens his arms and they fit together like puzzle pieces. Morning cuddles with Beomgyu are a rare occurrence, since the elder is usually working or still asleep, but they’re one of Taehyun’s favourite things about Beomgyu. He loves how comfortable and warm and safe it is, and especially how Beomgyu still manages to give him his affections while half-asleep. It’s endearing, to say the least. 

While Beomgyu keeps his eyes closed, breathing evenly as he rests with Taehyun by his side, Taehyun takes the time to memorise Beomgyu’s face. Every curve and his sharp jawline and his long eyelashes and his beautiful, plump lips. 

_‘Stop it, Taehyun. You can’t shorten the list.’_

He cups Beomgyu’s cheek and brushes the messy locks away from his face, while caressing his honey soft skin. God, how desperately he wants to kiss this perfect boy. 

While Taehyun will still keep pictures of Beomgyu, nothing will remind him of the sensation of touching his face tenderly. A memory to be eventually forgotten as he gets older. He’ll never get to experience Beomgyu’s face up close like this again, and it breaks his heart. 

It’s only when Beomgyu cups his cheek, brushing away something warm and salty with his thumb, that Taehyun realises he’s crying gentle tears. His mask clearly wasn’t very strong at all. Was he to blame? He would never be graced with Beomgyu’s human appearance again, only becoming another reminder that Beomgyu would no longer be able to be by his side like he’d hoped and dreamed of. 

Before, he purely dreamed of seeing his crane again, even just once. Once that was achieved, his new dream was to live with Beomgyu as a human, together for the rest of their lives. One that he knew was pointless, but that he still hopelessly hoped for, within the crevices of his naive and young heart. The only difference is that this new dream is unattainable. Impossible. 

“Taehyun-ah.” Beomgyu whispers, eyes staring into his, fondly. 

“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.” Taehyun chuckles, his face cracking even more as he holds back a sob. 

“It’s okay to cry. Today… today is sad.” Beomgyu purses his lips, threading his fingers through Taehyun’s hair as usual, as he pulls Taehyun to cry on his shoulder.

“It’s the day before your birthday. It’s your last day as a human. It’s supposed to be happy.” Taehyun mumbles. 

“You’re the one that taught me that all emotions are valid and okay. And I’m telling it back to you.” 

“I just… I didn’t want to ruin your day, and yet I’ve already…” Taehyun sniffles. 

“You didn’t ruin anything. Taehyun, there’s no one else I would rather spend my last day as a human with, than you.” Beomgyu smiles.

Taehyun nods and nuzzles Beomgyu’s chest, hugging him tighter, and never wanting to let go. 

“So what’s the plan for today? I thought we could go wherever you want, do whatever you want to do.” 

“Sounds perfect. I want to stay home with you all day.” 

“What?” Taehyun looks up, confused. “It’s your last day and you could go _anywhere_ you want, and you choose to stay home? That’s like… skipping a school excursion because you want to spend more time with your parents, who you already see every single day.” 

Beomgyu chuckles at the surprisingly accurate analogy. 

“That’s exactly right. I want to spend all my time with you, just at home, where it’s nice and comfortable, and there’s no one to disturb us.” Beomgyu smiles. “We’ve already done so much this week, and you’ve truly made it the best week of my human life, so thank you. But now, I just want to rest and cuddle with you.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. I guess I achieved my goal for this week… unless today decides to be the worst.” Taehyun chuckles under his breath. “Anything for you, lovely.” 

Taehyun blushes at the use of a pet name, hoping that it doesn’t make Beomgyu uncomfortable, since they’re not even dating. Beomgyu smiles and squeezes his hand gently. 

“Sounds wonderful, beautiful.” 

They cuddle under warm sheets and eat the leftover cookies for breakfast and dance (or at least attempt to dance) to music and just simply enjoy themselves. They make instant ramen and Taehyun reminisces about eating it for his first dinner, just the year before, and they laugh about how ironic it is as one of Beomgyu’s last meals. 

“Oh yeah, I brought something to show you.” Taehyun smiles, unlatching himself from their cuddling position on his couch. 

He comes back with a small box, piquing Beomgyu’s curiosity. He gasps softly as he sees Taehyun take out his feather with careful and delicate fingers. He’s amazed at how it still sparkles, very much still something that is connected to him despite being separated. 

“If it wasn’t for this feather, I’d probably have firstly forgotten about you, and secondly, I wouldn’t have been so curious about your feather necklace.” Taehyun giggles softly. “I’m forever grateful that you left it behind, ten years ago. In a way… I guess it helped me find my way back to you.” 

“Not like I asked you to.” Beomgyu jokes, earning a laugh. “But seriously, I’m thankful too. I… Obviously… I don’t know where I’d be without you, if you hadn’t barged into my life so boldly, always pestering me. I’d probably be on the verge of becoming a rotten and poor excuse of a human just like my father.” 

“I could say the same about you.” Taehyun chuckles. “You’ve changed my life for the better, hyung. You really have.”

“And now I’m changing it for the worst, huh?” 

“Stop! You’re no longer allowed to ask personal questions like that! Don’t even _think_ about bringing up anything negative again.” Taehyun scolds firmly. 

“Taehyun, you can’t keep denying your feelings.” 

“I can. Just for today. Just until after you leave.” Taehyun sighs. “Which reminds me… I also have your birthday present.” 

“It’s so pretty.” Beomgyu holds up the necklace, letting it glimmer in the sunlight.

“It’s a crescent moon. Kind of as a symbol of your human life. The one that I don’t want you to forget.” Taehyun puts it around Beomgyu’s neck gently. “I figured you could still keep it on you as a crane, hopefully. Happy birthday for tomorrow, Beomgyu-hyung. You finally made it.”

“I… Yeah. I guess I did. Not that we know what exactly will happen tonight.” 

“I swear, if this curse isn’t broken already, I’m going to have a word with this goddess of yours.” Taehyun groans. 

Beomgyu chuckles nervously. “You won’t have to, don’t worry. And thanks for the present. I’ll always keep it with me, to remember you.” 

“If you can keep even a piece of me, that’s good enough for me.” Taehyun forces a smile, lips quivering slightly. 

“I… Taehyun.” Beomgyu takes his hands. “This could be the worst decision ever and you could hate me for this, but I need to do this, before it’s too late.”

“You’re scaring me, hyung.” Taehyun lets out a nervous chuckle. 

“I have a present for you too.” 

When Beomgyu emerges from his room, Taehyun swears he can already feel himself getting emotional. 

“Oh god, I’m going to cry, aren’t I?”

“I… Yeah. Probably.” Beomgyu laughs and sits cross-legged as they face each other on the couch, nestling the guitar in his lap and tuning it. “I realised I never got to sing my concert song for you. And what better time than now?” 

An unfamiliar chord progression fills the room with sweet notes, with Beomgyu’s slender fingers picking at the strings with confidence. He feels more comfortable playing the song, partly because it’s just the two of them and secondly, because this time, he’s sure. 

_They talk about love, with foreign words  
I don’t understand  
I look at you, and my heart, it grows warm  
I don’t understand  
But I look into your eyes, those beautiful eyes,  
And maybe, just maybe   
I might understand_

_Maybe it’s love, maybe it’s not  
But all I know is this_

_Your smile, your laugh, I want ‘em all  
Nothing in the world could compare to you  
Your time, your gaze, I want ‘em all  
Nobody else could compare to you_

_The past was dark, but the present is bright  
You’re the one that makes everything right  
I don’t have forever, but I’d spend it with you  
Every second left, I’d spend it with you_

Taehyun tries to focus on the lyrics and the beautifully arranged melody and Beomgyu’s sweet silky voice, he really does, but by the time he gets to the chorus, his tears pour out like the dam of his heart breaking open. He curls up and sobs, never straying his gaze from Beomgyu’s beautiful figure, but just letting himself listen to the lyrics as the grief overwhelms his soul. 

It gets to the bridge, and Taehyun’s heart breaks all over again as he feels Beomgyu’s raw emotions through his words, crying out and trying to sing the words and get through to the end. 

_And I want you, I want you  
Yeah I need you  
Like the Earth needs the Sun  
Like the air in my lungs_

_But I can't, I can't, I can't,  
And it just hurts too much  
Wish I didn't have to leave  
Or let go of your touch_

_Every night in the silence  
Always memories of you  
The one who has my heart  
My dear, it's you_

As he finishes the song, Taehyun hides his face and sobs uncontrollably into his hands, body shaking and overwhelmed with emotions. Beomgyu puts the guitar aside, pulls Taehyun into his chest, and cries into his hair, clinging to him desperately. The pent-up feelings of yearning and loss from their time together had built up over the week, overflowing with one song that expressed their pain all too well. 

“I fucking hate you!” Taehyun sobs, punching his chest lightly. 

“I know. I’m sorry.” Beomgyu hiccups. 

“Why? Why does everything have to be so cruel?” Taehyun cries out, as if demanding an answer from the goddess herself. 

“This is the curse, Taehyun-ah.” Beomgyu cups his cheek, wiping away tears, only to welcome a new stream of tears. 

“It hurts, Beomgyu. Everything fucking hurts.” 

“I know.” 

After they cry their eyes out, throats sore and noses clogged and eyes puffy, they settle back down on the couch, cuddling like before. 

“Now that we’ve gotten another sad episode out of the way.” Beomgyu chuckles, still sniffling a little. “How was it?”

“The worst. I hate you.” Taehyun grumbles against his chest, where he is resting his head. 

“I’ve heard that one before.” Beomgyu laughs. “Taehyun… I’m sorry. I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess and that I hurt you and that I caused you all this pain and-”

“Stop apologising. It’s not your fault.” Taehyun pouts up at him. “It’s the stupid curse.” 

“Sure.” Beomgyu says, unconvinced. “But… I just needed to tell you how I feel. Before it’s too late. I wrote that song over the winter holidays, but even during the week before the concert… I came up with more to say. It’s like… every day that we spent together gave me more to think about… more feelings to write about.” 

Beomgyu takes his hand and caresses them tenderly.

“If I really am turning into a crane, I don’t want to go without… without doing more.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Taehyun, I’m in love with you. I know now, that I love you more than anything else in the world. I love you like you love me. And it’s been driving me crazy, probably ever since months ago even if I didn’t realise it, but I’d really like to kiss you. Holding hands is nice, but if I never get my first kiss, then what’s the point?” Beomgyu chuckles, squeezing his hands nervously. 

“I… I think I’d regret it after all.” Taehyun smiles at Beomgyu’s confused face. “I told myself I wouldn’t kiss you. Not even your forehead, like I’ve wanted to do for so long. I told myself that if I let myself do these things, it’d only make it hurt more. And that’s still true… but I’d regret it, in the end, if I didn’t experience them with you, because I love you.” 

“Okay.” Beomgyu blushes, nervous as anything. “So… how does it work? I watched it in the movies of course, but I never really-”

The next second, Taehyun’s soft, pink lips are on his, although the moment lasts a second as he pulls away. 

“What was that? That was nothing-”

“I tried, okay?”

The two giggle softly, still holding hands with flushed cheeks, giddy and shy like lovesick teenagers. Beomgyu holds up a hand to cup Taehyun’s cheek, his touch ever so gentle, and he leans in for another kiss. This time, their lips connect perfectly, and Beomgyu sucks on his bottom lip gently, his lips sweeter than he’d anticipated. Taehyun melts into the kiss, heart fluttering as he curls his fingers in Beomgyu’s hair. He smiles and rests his forehead against Beomgyu’s, timid and embarrassed as they stare into each other’s eyes. Taehyun kisses his forehead, then his eyes, his nose, his cheeks, and finally, another chaste one on the lips. 

It feels unreal. Beomgyu doesn’t quite know how to explain it, but he’s warm and only focused on Taehyun and how beautiful he is, and his heart swells with love and affection. He feels light, and in a way, free. It’s not like ‘flying’ free, but rather, the ‘freedom to love’ free. There are no longer any voices telling him it’s wrong, or his parents’ voices that used to plague his mind, telling him he must never love humans. For once in his life, it’s silent. He kisses Taehyun’s hand, and brings it to his cheek so he can kiss his palm. It’s all tender and intimate, and there’s nothing awkward about it. It’s natural. It feels like the most right thing that Beomgyu has ever done in his life. Loving Taehyun is easily the best decision he’s ever made. (As if it was a choice at all. In fact, it felt more like falling naturally; something that happened without him even realising until he was too deep.)

“God, I’ve wanted this for so long.” Taehyun smiles sadly, cuddling Beomgyu again and kissing his neck softly. 

“Me too. I love you so much.” Beomgyu kisses his forehead again. “Thank you for loving me. You… you taught me how to love. In my dark and lonely world, you shone into it with your radiant light, giving me life.” 

“Beomgyu-hyung…” Taehyun cups his cheek. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I… I can’t-” 

He tears up again and Beomgyu kisses his eyes.

“Don’t. Don’t worry about it. You’re the one who said we should make today happy, right?” Beomgyu smiles. “Everything will be okay. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Taehyun chuckles as he rests his head over Beomgyu’s heart, listening to it beat steadily. 

“Taehyun-ah, if I _do_ end up as a crane, I promise I’ll visit you every night. I’ll fly to your rooftop, just to listen to your voice and so you can play your cassette for me.” Beomgyu says softly, threading methodic fingers through his red hair. “I never want to go a day without hearing your voice or listening to you rant about your day.”

“You don’t have to.” Taehyun shuts him down immediately. “You’re going to explore the world, aren’t you? Hyung, you don’t have to be tied down to humans anymore. You can finally be free.”

“Taehyun, you can’t be serious.” Beomgyu tilts Taehyun’s head up, looking into teary eyes yet again, guilt and pain panging in his heart. “I just told you how much I love you, you heard my song, and now you’re telling me to forget you and leave you?”

“You belong to the world of cranes. You belong in the sky-”

“I belong here.” 

Taehyun blinks once and the tears fall at Beomgyu’s serious voice and yet fond expression as he cups Taehyun’s cheek. 

“I belong with you. In a world where I didn’t belong anywhere, not with cranes and not with humans, I found you. _You_ became my home.”—Beomgyu kisses his tears away, slow and tender—“Travelling the world means nothing if I can’t come home to you every night.” 

“Maybe it would mean something if you’d just leave me and forget about me.” Taehyun sobs softly. 

“Taehyun-ah.” Beomgyu’s voice cracks. “You’re asking me to do the impossible. Don’t you understand? You’ve become the most important thing, the most important presence, in my life. You can’t just ask me to forget the most amazing year of my life, and all the memories we’ve shared together. They’re a part of me now. And I don’t think I’d be me without them. Without _you_.” 

“But aren’t I just being a burden? Just keeping you chained to earth when you could be free in the sky?” 

“You’re never a burden… love.” Beomgyu sniffles, cupping his cheek. “You’re the one that I love, and the one that I can’t live without. Yes, it will hurt, seeing you suffering and not being able to hold you and comfort you and grow old as humans together… but nothing could be more painful than being separated from you.”

“D-Don’t leave me-” Taehyun chokes on a sob. “I… fuck, I don’t think I’ll ever move on. Especially not if you’re visiting me every night. But I’m okay with that, because I will never love anyone or anything as much as I love you. I… I don’t think I can handle being separated from you either. Fuck, it’s already so painful, just thinking about how we can’t just be humans together.”

“I know. And I’m sorry.” Beomgyu strokes his hair, holding him close. 

“Hey.” Taehyun smiles a little and kisses him firmly. “I don’t regret a thing. As much as it hurts and will hurt, I could never regret loving you, Beomgyu.”

“We’ll only hurt each other, though.” Beomgyu wonders when everything suddenly turned back to him and his regrets for being so selfish. “I… I want you to move on, someday… but I’m so selfish and I don’t want to leave you-”

“Please. Don’t.” Taehyun cups his cheek. “I’m asking you to stay. I’m giving you permission to hurt me. Break my heart over and over, Choi Beomgyu, but just don’t leave me. Because like you said… living without you would only be more painful.” 

“How would you know? Maybe it’d hurt less and less. Maybe things could change.” 

Beomgyu bites his lip, hands slightly shaking. 

“Are you taking back your words now?” Taehyun asks, probably a bit more harshly than he intended. “Didn’t you say you could never forget me, when I asked you to do so for me?” 

“Taehyun, no, I…” Beomgyu sighs, sniffling again. “I’m just conflicted. I love you and I just want you to be happy. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“The pain is inevitable, hyung… for both of us.” Taehyun says. “I’m happiest when I’m with you. If our days are filled with both longing and pain and happiness and laughter, they’ll be worth it, as long as I’m with you.” 

“I… Okay.” Beomgyu nods slowly. 

“Promise me you won’t leave me.”

“I promise.”

They spend the rest of the sunlight hours mostly cuddling and kissing (becoming more and more confident with each one), simply enjoying each other’s company and both trying to distract themselves from the dreaded midnight. They nap a bit, learn to sing Beomgyu’s song together (and even record it on Taehyun’s phone once they’ve perfected it), watch Taehyun’s favourite episodes of a funny drama, and sit together on Beomgyu’s balcony as they watch the distant sunset.

They invite the other three over for dinner, this time preparing meat and various home cooked side dishes that they all help to make. It helps Taehyun a lot to keep his mind busy, instead of worrying about what would occur later at night. Beomgyu himself regrets the fact that he has to leave them with no explanation, completely cutting himself out of their lives. They don’t know a thing, and that helps both of them to deny it for even just half the night. The three leave after eating delivery ice cream together, claiming they’d rather leave the two of them alone, especially after hearing of their first kiss (Beomgyu had gotten so used to it that he kissed Taehyun in the kitchen, unaware of Yeonjun walking in). 

Beomgyu notices the time, but he doesn’t mention it, already sensing the unspoken tension and dread in the air between them. Less than three hours until midnight. Taehyun busies himself washing the dishes, trying his hardest to save his tears for the _actual_ farewell. Beomgyu wraps his arms around Taehyun’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. 

“You’re really gonna wash the dishes in the last few hours?” He jokes. 

“Yes, I am.” Beomgyu honestly can’t tell whether he’s serious or not. 

“Well, I’m telling you now that dishes are the least important thing right now, and that it’s pointless to wash them anyway.” 

“What would you like to do then? Nap again so I don’t have to think about it?” Taehyun says bluntly, rinsing and drying his hands. 

Beomgyu turns Taehyun around and kisses him against the kitchen bench, only leaving a chaste kiss.

“Dance with me.” Beomgyu smiles and takes Taehyun’s hand, leading him to the living room. 

He puts on a slow dance playlist he found randomly and then waits, confused as he realises he doesn’t even know how to slow dance. Taehyun giggles and shows him, hand on his shoulder while Beomgyu’s hand is on his waist, and their free hands are interlaced. Taehyun rests his head on Beomgyu’s shoulder and sways with him as they listen to the soft music and the sound of their breathing. Beomgyu reflects on how his previous self would have thought slow dancing to be stupid and pointless, but now he thinks it’s beautiful, being so intimate even when there are no words exchanged. It’s a comfortable silence, a tender moment, even when they both start crying silent tears again. 

It’s so beautiful and wonderful, being with Taehyun, that Beomgyu curses at his past self for not realising earlier. They could have had so much time together, being intimate and kissing and holding hands, unlike when they were awkward and cautious of their feelings. 

“What are you thinking about?” Taehyun’s voice cuts through the silence. 

“You. And how I wish I’d realised my feelings earlier. We could have had more time together like this.” Beomgyu sighs.

“Beomie-hyung, it’s not your fault.” Taehyun kisses his cheek. “We were both unsure. But I don’t regret anything. If anything, I’m glad we _did_ have at least one day to be pseudo-boyfriends.” 

“Pseudo-boyfriends, huh? Can I call you Hyunnie, then?” 

“Of course. Anything for you, love.” 

“Well, Hyunnie, I think you’re the best pseudo-boyfriend I’ve ever had.” Beomgyu giggles. 

“As are you. You’d make an even better _real_ boyfriend.” Taehyun blushes. 

“I wish things were different.” Beomgyu sighs after a pause. 

“But they’re not, sadly.” Taehyun bites his lip, and then he smiles. “We can’t do anything about it now. I guess I’ll just live forever with nightly visits from my beautiful crane.” 

“Taehyun, maybe you have to move on eventually. When you’re… I don’t know, middle-aged.” 

“I can’t. I told you before. You can’t expect me to ever find love again, especially not when I know you’re still out there, and _definitely_ not if we meet daily.” Taehyun presses a kiss to his lips before Beomgyu can argue back. “And don’t you dare think of leaving me so I can move on. That would be worse than anything.” 

“I know. I promised, remember? I’ll keep seeing you, until the day one of us dies.” Beomgyu smiles. 

“Good. I need to see you too, just as much as you need to hear my voice. I may not be able to talk to you anymore, but I can certainly see you and touch you.” Taehyun strokes his cheek, still not over how much he loves the sensation of Beomgyu’s warm and soft skin against his. Soon, he won’t get to feel Beomgyu’s warmth like this. 

They talk and cuddle as the minutes pass by, Taehyun wanting to hear Beomgyu’s voice as much as he can. They look back on the past year and laugh about the beginnings of their ‘acquaintance’ status, and talk about mundane things, and the things that Beomgyu will miss (Taehyun first and most importantly, and then music). As midnight gets closer, Beomgyu’s hand squeezes and kisses grow in frequency, attempting to calm Taehyun’s shaking hands and threatening tears. 

When it gets to 11:45, they make their way to the rooftop of Beomgyu’s apartment. The wind is harsh and cold, and Taehyun is thankful that Beomgyu lent him one of his oversized hoodies. They watch the stars and the city of lights, and Taehyun almost hates it, because now almost everything is interwoven with a memory of theirs. Is this what he’s cursed to experience now, for the rest of his life, being constantly reminded of the once-human crane that he will always love? 

“I love you so much.” Beomgyu sobs, hugging Taehyun impossibly tight and kissing him deeply, all of their overwhelming emotions being shared between them. 

“I love you, I love you, I’ll tell you however many times you need to hear it.”—Taehyun sobs uncontrollably—“Please, just- just don’t leave me-”

“I won’t, I promised-”

It all happens too quickly. One moment they were admiring the stars, and the next, Beomgyu was hugging him and crying and Taehyun couldn't stop either. It feels as if his heart is thrown into a sudden marathon, everything moving too fast and his mind no longer able to comprehend exactly what’s happening. He wants time to stop, to go back and rewind, and yet it keeps ticking forward. The world keeps moving, even though Taehyun begs it to stop. 

Beomgyu kisses him and Taehyun’s chasing after him, needing to feel him and his warmth and to keep holding him all at once. He’s not ready. He was never ready to let go. 

“Hyunnie, Hyunnie, everything will be okay. I promise.” 

“But it won’t be the same-”

“Trust me.”

And Beomgyu falls limp in Taehyun’s arms.


	10. x

Beomgyu’s eyes shoot open and he sits up. He’s still a human. He surveys his surroundings; he’s inside a pure white temple of sorts, with long pillars and walls that emit light and blind him. 

_“Choi Beomgyu. Cursed crane. Welcome to my dwelling place.”_ The goddess’s clear and echoey voice says. 

“So this is the part where you tell me whether I’ve broken the curse or not?” Beomgyu asks, looking around and touching the cool pillars. 

_“Yes, it is. Tell me, child, do you think you’ve broken the curse?”_ She inquires curiously. 

“Only you know. But yes, I think I have.” Beomgyu says firmly. 

_“What makes you say so?”_

“Because I learnt how to love, unlike my ancestors and all the other cursed cranes.” 

_“And you are confident of this fact?”_

“Yes, because I found someone I love more than anything else… even myself.” 

_“You foolish child,”_ She rebukes him. _“You haven’t broken the curse at all. Your wings and beauty will be stripped from you, and you shall be cursed to remain a human for the rest of your life.”_

“Okay.” Beomgyu can barely hide his smile.

_“Why do you react like so? Your freedom and happiness will be taken from you forever, grounding you to the earth and forcing you to labour all the years of your life. Tell me, is this what you desire?”_

“It is. Because I have someone I long to be with. Someone I promised I would stay by his side until the day we die. I have found my own freedom and happiness, and it’s him. I don’t need my wings, as long as I have him.” Beomgyu smiles, touching the moon necklace around his neck. “So please, Divine One, would you let me return to his side quickly?” 

The goddess laughs. Beomgyu is confused. Even though he can’t see her, he can hear her voice, and yet she’s laughing. 

_“My, you have certainly exceeded my expectations.”_

“What? What do you mean?” Beomgyu asks, slightly intimidated.

 _“Child, you have learnt to love others, both humans and creatures alike, and one human even more than you love yourself.”_ The goddess says. _“You, unlike your ancestor, have come to realise that humans are beautiful beings as well, and that they are not to be hated immediately. Yes, some of your ancestors may have found love like you did, however you are the first to find it before turning 20. Choi Beomgyu, you… have broken the curse.”_

Beomgyu gasps softly in shock. He actually did it. He did what none of his previous generations of his family line ever achieved, and he broke the curse. And it was all thanks to Taehyun. 

With his mind still processing and his heart squeezing painfully tight, he clenches his shaking fists and gets on the ground. He can do this. 

“Divine One, I thank you for your kindness and am forever grateful for the gift of freedom again…” Beomgyu gulps. “But please, I humbly beg of you… 

Please let me stay as a human for the rest of my life.” 

She laughs again, and Beomgyu doesn’t dare look up from his bowing position on the floor, afraid and in disbelief that he dared ask something of the goddess, rejecting the chance to be a crane again. 

_“Lift your head, Choi Beomgyu.”_ She commands. _“Yet again, you have exceeded my expectations. Never did I imagine that you would willingly ask to trade your crane life for a human one, all for the one you love.”_

“With all due respect, he is worth it. I’m sure you’ve seen him as you have watched over us. He is the one I belong with, and I would rather spend my life as a human with him than to travel the world alone. I would rather see him smile and hear his laugh more than anything else.” 

_“Fear not, child. I have not yet told you the full reward for breaking the curse.”_

“What? Full reward?”

_“The one that breaks the curse is given the ability to traverse both lives. Because you broke the curse, you are given your freedom as a crane, but you are also given the choice of living as a human. You now have the ability to transform at your will.”_

“I… That… That means…” Beomgyu gapes in shock, letting out a shaky breath. “I can be a human, _and_ turn into a crane freely?”

_“Yes. Well done, Choi Beomgyu.”_

“Oh my… thank you, thank you, thank you!” Beomgyu bows again, overjoyed and unable to believe this is really happening. “Thank you, Divine One, for your generous gift. I will treasure my life and remember your goodness to me.” 

_“My child, this is what_ you _have achieved. I have simply given you what you deserve. Your love is the most powerful tool, so use it wisely.”_

“Yes, Divine One. I promise. I will love him and my friends and humans and creatures until the day of my last breath.” Beomgyu says resolutely, holding a hand over his heart. 

_“You, who have restored the once broken balance between humans, creatures, and nature… You, who have broken a cycle of self-centred and self-loving cranes… May your life be full of love and happiness found in the ones you love and the life you build. May your actions and words be guided by love for others. I send you out into the world, my beautiful child, until the day you return to my arms.”_

Everything shines white, causing Beomgyu to flinch, and then everything goes dark again.

Beomgyu sits up with a sudden gasp of breath, and he knocks something, earning a yelp of pain from both of them.

“Ouch, what the fuck-” Taehyun gapes.

Beomgyu literally stops breathing. 

Taehyun’s face is a sobbing mess, his hair messy and his cheeks still flooded with tears. 

“What the fuck?” 

“Hyunnie.” Beomgyu smiles, tearing up.

“Oh fuck no- This is a dream, this has to be dream, oh my god, I knew it was too good to be true-”

“Hyunnie, it’s not a dream-”

“Why is he not a crane? Fuck, did we not break the curse, I thought-”

“Kang Taehyun!” Beomgyu slaps him lightly. “It’s me. Beomgyu. I’m okay.” 

“I swear, if this is a prank by the goddess or something-”

Beomgyu wraps his arms around Taehyun and kisses him, knocking the breath out of the both of them. Beomgyu is crying too now, as he chuckles through tears and rests his forehead on Taehyun’s, while cupping his cheeks.

“It’s really me.” 

“Oh my god… Oh my god!!” Taehyun tackles him to the ground, squeezing him tight, almost suffocating him. 

“Holy shit, are you really real? Like for real? Wait, I shouldn’t be happy, this means you didn’t break the curse, right?” Taehyun panics. 

“I did.” Beomgyu beams. “The reward for breaking the curse… was that I can live both lives. I can transform willingly, at any time.”

“Are you serious?! That’s- What-”

“I know. I thought the Divine One was lying to me. I thought it was too good to be true, but it is true.” Beomgyu smiles, kissing his tears. “I’m here, and I’m here to stay.” 

“Oh my- This is too much!” Taehyun laughs through tears, curling his fingers into Beomgyu’s hair and kissing all over his face. “I can’t believe it.”

“I promised, didn’t I?” Beomgyu grins, stroking his cheek. 

“Yes, you did.” Taehyun smiles. “And you kept it. Just like I knew you would.” 

  
  
  


“This can’t be real.” Taehyun says as he clings to Beomgyu while they’re cuddling in bed. 

“It is.”

“I’m not going to wake up and find you stuck as a crane?”

“You won’t.”

“Okay, but what if-”

“Hyunnie.” Beomgyu chuckles and kisses his forehead. “Trust the goddess.”

“Okay.” Taehyun sighs. “Did she at least tell you what it was? What broke the curse?”

“It was love.” Beomgyu smiles. “You were right. I learnt that humans aren’t all bad and to be hated, and I learnt to love others more than myself. And you’re the one that taught me that.”

“I just helped you.” Taehyun blushes. 

“It still counts. I wouldn’t have been able to break the curse without you, so thank you.” Beomgyu kisses him softly. 

Taehyun giggles softly after the kiss, “Does this mean we can spend the rest of our lives together?”

“Yes, of course.” Beomgyu kisses his hand. “I promise to never leave you. My life is devoted to you.”

“Devote it to yourself first and foremost.” Taehyun chuckles. “Beomie-hyung, Your happiness always comes first.”

“Beautiful, you _are_ my happiness. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” 

“We’ll make each other happy then.” Taehyun smiles fondly. 

“Hyunnie, will you be my boyfriend? For real now?” Beomgyu asks him softly before they drift to sleep. 

“What if I say no?” Taehyun chuckles softly and cuddles closer, resting his head on Beomgyu’s warm chest.

“Then I’ll ask you until you say yes.” 

“Sounds annoying.”

“Too bad. You’re stuck with me for life.”

“I guess that sounds better.” Taehyun jokes. “Yes. Yes, my lovely crane.” 

Beomgyu smiles fondly and connects their lips in a deep kiss, the both of them crying silent tears of joy and relief. They finally have each other to love and to hold. 

* * *

_The crane didn’t know what compelled him towards the crying human girl. What kept bringing him back. He didn’t know anything about humans, but he knew that this one was lonely and grieved._

_“You’re so beautiful.” She smiled at him, stroking his treasured feathers, her touch as gentle as the wind._

_He wanted her to smile all the time. Her crying face did not suit her, and it pained him greatly to see her so distressed. If his presence could calm her and make her smile, even a little, it was worth it, even when they couldn’t properly communicate._

  
  


_“You’re so lovely, my crane.” She sniffled, taking the carefully plucked flower from him. “If only you were a human, perhaps we could run away together.”_

_The suggestion piqued his interest, but he knew it would be impossible. Yet he wanted to hope. Even if they were two different creatures, he wanted to stay by her side._

_“I wish to love freely, rather than to be tied down by my status.” She said sadly, combing his feathers. “I’m sure you’d be a dashingly handsome human that could take me away.”_

  
  


_The long period of time where she did not meet him by the lake made him increasingly worried. Was she okay? Was it getting harder for her to sneak out? Was it something he did? Did she get tired of him? He could only worry more as the time passed, his hope to see her again never fading._

_When he saw her next, she was smiling happily_ _(the way she did when she was with him) except this time with a human prince. She had poured out her distaste for arranged marriages and being wed for the sake of continuing the royal bloodline, and yet here she was, laughing happily with a human that was not him. A human that he could never become._

_Even when she returned and apologised, he only felt betrayed, abandoned, lied to, tricked… so much so that he did not believe her words._

_“My crane,” She pet his head for the last time he would allow her to. “I’ve missed you dearly. I am being forced to marry the prince to unite our kingdoms. It’s the exact opposite of what I want. The prince… he only cares for power and receiving an heir. He does not love me. I don’t think he ever will.”_

_‘Lies. You smile so happily with him. That is a joy that cannot be faked.’ He thought to himself._

_“If only he were gentle and kind, like you. If only he loved me like you love me.” She cried silent tears. “If only you were a prince that could save me.”_

_‘I will not listen to your deceiving words ever again.’ He swore to himself._

_He flew away and found the berries he knew were dangerous to humans, and he brought them to her._

_“Thank you, my beautiful crane. You truly do love me and look after me like no other.” She smiled. “Please, keep loving everyone, not just me. I will not always be here anymore, as much as my heart longs to be with you. So please, do take care, and I will come see you whenever I can.”_

_She kissed the crane’s head, and ate the berries. His heart hesitated for a second, regretting his actions, but they were quickly overtaken by his unforgiving heart and hatred for what he believed was her cunning and deceptive nature._

_As she fell to the ground, the toxins slowly eating away at her body, he flew away, and the poison grew in his heart that day, never to fade as he became bitter and turned against the world._

* * *

Beomgyu opens his eyes and turns to see Taehyun in his arms, his breathing even as he keeps a firm hold around Beomgyu’s waist. 

_‘So that was what happened to my ancestor… His hatred made him blind to her true love for him. How ironic, that she wanted him to turn into a human so they could run away together.’_ Beomgyu chuckles at the thought, seeing it turn into reality for him and Taehyun. 

Beomgyu sighs and kisses the crown of Taehyun’s head, content and at peace. The middle of the night is silent, besides the sound of their breathing and beating hearts. He holds up his feather, letting it sparkle in the moonlight as he inspects it. 

There’s something good that came out of his life after all. Most of his life, he was burdened by the curse, like a thick smog suffocating him, like a weight on his shoulders that never eased. The words from his parents and the cranes never left him, only becoming the voices that would feed his darkened and poisoned heart. The pressure of breaking the curse only made everything worse. 

Until Taehyun shined into his life. He reached in and gave him a love that would heal his bitter heart slowly, yet gradually. Being with Taehyun set Beomgyu free. 

The curse is gone, and the burden is lifted from his shoulders. They’re free to love, just like the princess (and perhaps his ancestor) wanted. When he’s with Taehyun, he can finally breathe, the voices going silent as he focuses on Taehyun and his beautiful light. He is no longer alone, left to suffer and cry on his own. Instead, he has warm arms to rest in, and an angelic voice to soothe him. He finally has someone to call home. A place to belong. 

And so, they’ll pave their own future, soaring together with the wings they promised to create, and flying freely with a love as vast as the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you've made it this far, i seriously cannot thank you enough. it means a lot to me that you spent the time to read my 48k words of both good and bad parts! i appreciate every single one of you.  
> it's the longest fic i've ever written, and i can firmly say i won't be attempting to cram another long fic again. this fic has taught me a lot, and obviously there are parts that i'm more proud of than others. there's still so much (if not all aspects) of my writing that i need to improve and develop, but thank you for reading it even with its flaws!! 
> 
> please do feel free to leave kudos, and more importantly a comment if you'd like! please complain to me about my fic. tell me what i needed to improve. tell me what you liked and what you didn't like. i will accept any feedback gratefully. 
> 
> to eli,  
> i hope it made you feel even a little bit of the emotions of the characters. they're close to my heart, as much as i didn't write them justice. and it's all from _your_ prompt! thank you for giving me the chance to write something new and different for my personal writing growth. i love you!! let's be friends if you'd like! ♡
> 
>   
> check out my [twitter](https://twitter.com/beomieggyu)! please feel free to come talk to me, get to know me, scream at me, or anything at all! i'd love to make new friends!  
> also feel free to drop a comment or question on my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/beomieggyu)!
> 
> thank you so so much and i love you all!! ♡♡♡ merry christmas and happy holidays!!


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